The Uzumaki Tag Company
by Alastor Maelgwyn
Summary: Genesis. The beginning of a new era, built upon the foundations of old. The future is uncertain, but an enlightened mind feels no fear. Pure creation. Pure destruction. Such is the new path of Team Seven.  Team-Centric, Fuuinjutsu Naruto
1. Here Comes the Boom

This is AM welcoming you all to the fledgling story "The Uzumaki Tag Company".

No pairing yet. No yaoi. Feel free to review!

I'm using this story to practice writing...yeah

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, though I wish I had his abs.

* * *

Chapter 1: Here Comes the Boom

Night fell over Konohagakure. Trees shuddered as an evening zephyr glided upon them, making the silent woods became alive with the whispering of and the groaning of branches. In the forest near the southernmost gate of Konoha, the breeze gently pushed against the walls of a small cottage,whose rotting foundations and sun bleached steps lay forgotten under the glimmering stars.

From the shadows between two trees a small figure emerged. Piercing blue eyes glowed beneath radiant blond hair as they darted left and right, surveying the clearing intently. Seeing no one, the boy stepped into the open and leisurely strolled across the grass toward the shack, all the while tossing a scroll up and down with one hand.

"Cake," he snorted to himself, nonetheless grinning at his success.

He reached the steps of the cottage and rested himself down.

"Alright," Naruto muttered excitedly. "Let's see why this thing's so important!"

He whipped out the scroll and flicked a latch on its side, letting the parchment unravel in his hands. He eagerly pulled it closer, remembering how Mizuki had hinted that there were many powerful techniques in the Forbidden Scroll. Now was his chance, perhaps his only chance, to learn a jutsu so powerful even Sasuke would be jealous!

Naruto let out a girlish squeal and his eyes darted across the first line of the scroll. Then the second. Then the third.

His grin slowly diminished, and a look of horror gripped his features.

Something was very, very wrong.

* * *

The Hokage stirred into consciousness, groaning into the fluffy carpet currently pressing into his face.

"That's it," he muttered to himself as he shifted onto his hands and knees, trying to cast the images of a buxom young blond from his mind. "It's getting put into the Forbidden Scroll."

He stood and surveyed the scene, ignoring the cracking of his spine as it protested his impromptu nap across the office floor.

"What happened?"

His wrinkled eyelids fluttered rapidly as he suddenly remembered. Images of Naruto standing beside the vault flashed across his mind and he nearly threw himself across his desk in panic. The door was closed; the Hokage threw it open with a force uncharacteristic of his age and desperately searched inside of the room. After a few seconds of browsing his brown eyes lost their glint of panic.

"Interesting."

He laid his hand upon the forbidden scroll in thought. Everything appeared to be exactly where it needed to be, and there was nothing unusual in the room besides a small note on the floor. The Hokage stooped over and snatched it up.

"_Old man_," he read to himself quietly. "_You really need better security 'cause I got in here really easy! Just goes to show how awesome I am. I hope you'll take this as a lesson, the first of many you'll be learning from future Hokage Naruto Uzumaki!_ Oh, how considerate. He included a picture of me drooling on the floor."

The Hokage sighed and looked around one more time. Nothing seemed to be missing, and Naruto, judging by the note, did not intend to steal anything; rather, he just wanted to prank the Hokage by showing that he could break into his vault without getting caught.

Sarutobi's intentions of alerting his Anbu died the moment he finished reading the note. He exited the vault and closed it behind him, watching as a blue shimmer raced over it. No one could ever know of this, he decided. The council would ask too many questions – dangerous questions. He knew that position and power as Hokage would be challenged, for sure, but at that moment Sarutobi was not concerned with that possibility. There was something odd about the robbery that people like Danzo would be sure to notice and take advantage of, and that was Naruto's apparent ease in bypassing a high level bloodline seal that only allowed a Hokage's genes to pass. Sighing, he glanced at the picture of the Yondaime on the wall before turning and walking out of the office. The door closed quietly behind him.

* * *

Mizuki frowned.

"What the hell is happening out there?" he muttered to himself, shuffling a deck of cards with sweaty palms.

The answer to his question? Absolutely nothing.

He had waited in his living room, waiting to hear the inevitable emergency siren that denoted the robbing of the Hokage vault, but the signal never came. He found himself increasingly restless, his usual calm temperament disappearing with the seconds passing by. Eventually, he began to mutter to himself.

"The demon might have given up. No, wait. No one might have noticed him. I'd check the rendezvous but..."

He kept his musings quiet, knowing that his roommate and fellow teacher Iruka was fast asleep upstairs after an exhausting day. Mizuki glanced out the window. Silent like a bird of prey, an ANBU operative perched on the chimney of the house across the street. The moon at his back threw his front into steep darkness, but his white bird mask glowed eerily in the darkness.

He wasn't even trying to hide himself.

Mizuki took a shaky drink of water from a glass, nearly shattering it with his grip. He knew he couldn't leave his house without a convincing reason; the investigation of his former teammate's death was drawing to a close and the interrogation department was sniffing closer and closer to his doorstep. Mizuki glanced at the clock for the tenth time in five minutes. They could arrive any moment now...

_Damn that motherf- _Mizuki cursed within his mind, and the glass exploded within his fingertips. _He cost me my power, my freedom! _

He cast an angry glare out the window at the ANBU, whose blank stare penetrated the depths of the teacher's soul and taunted him. Mizuki thought of Iruka upstairs and grinned to himself.

_With this, I can kill three birds with one stone..._

Mizuki cast one more look at the ANBU outside and gave him a bone-chilling smile before indiscreetly holding up the ram seal, causing the ANBU to start in surprise.

It was time to leave.

"Release!"

Mizuki shunshined from his house immediately, landing a half of a mile away on the rooftop of the academy. Even from this distance, he felt the heat and force of the blast. Of course, some civilians must have died; there was no normal human who could face the explosive power of twenty medium grade explosive tags and live to tell the tale. Iruka was definitely dead. Mizuki didn't care. Their lives were meaningless in the face of an evil like the Kyuubi. It had been an easy sacrifice. Mizuki turned his head towards the forest, noting that the time to meet Naruto had come and gone hours ago.

"Oh, he'll be there," Mizuki muttered darkly. "If there's anything good about him being a monster, it's that he won't give up until he's swallowed up all of the power he can find."

Another thought came into the teacher's head and he laughed openly, his eyes wide and glinting madly in the moonlight.

"How ironic; my last act before going to Hell will be to kill a demon!"

* * *

Naruto moaned to himself as he read the title.

"_Fuuinjutsu: Chakra Arrays._"

The blond didn't know what to make of it; he had raced into the vault, searched the shelves for a hidden scroll (it was the freaking _forbidden _scroll. They wouldn't just leave it out in the open, he reasoned) when his fingertips had brushed a small cylinder behind a stack of parchment. He had pulled it out and attempted to read its title in the meager light, but was only able to make out the letter F. In his desperation, he had assumed that it was the Forbidden Scroll. Only now Naruto saw his mistake.

"Does this mean I won't graduate?"

He adopted a pensive pose for a few moments.

"Well, I don't see the problem. It was in the Hokage's vault, so it must have techniques I could pass with, right?"

Naruto brought his eyes closer to the parchment and read.

_The Generic Exploding Tag_

_ This array is primarily designed to intake chakra. While the chakra is stored within the seal, it will be compressed to a minuscule size; this compression causes the chakra to react extremely violently when released. The array is shown below:_

Naruto glanced at the array in extreme interest. It seemed easy enough. Searching his pockets, he noticed that he had nothing to write on or with, so he grabbed a stick from the grass beside him and walked into the shack. An inch of dust covered every surface, just as Naruto suspected. Holding the scroll with one hand and conducting the stick with the other, he drew the array into the grime, making it as large as possible to get all of the details right. Finally, he finished, admiring his work before continuing to read.

_The steps to activating this array are as follows:_

_Imbue chakra into the paper. Most of the chakra input will be focused into the capacitor of the seal; the rest will devote itself to sealing the chakra in place until the user decides to release it. (Note, first time Sealers are advised to place as little chakra as possible into their first tags. In this way one will know how much one needs to place into the tag in order to produce the desired explosion.)_

_Place the tag in an area that will cause minimal damage to the user._

_Make the ram seal. (The chakra sealing the compressed chakra in place will be attracted to the user. It is advised to show extreme caution when performing other jutsus while an explosive tag is active and nearby.)_

Naruto could have laughed out loud. These instructions were so simple, so easy , it was almost as though sealing was made for him. He giggled excitedly to himself placed a hand on the dusty array, concentrating on the smallest amount of chakra he could scrounge up. He focused it into the wood, watching how the seal glowed bright red as it greedily absorbed the ckakra. When he was done, he watched how the seal returned to its normal appearance and almost peed himself in excitement.

"YES! LET'S DO THIS!"

Naruto jumped out to the center of the clearing, closing the door behind him. For a moment, Naruto wondered if this would even work; he had improvised so many things, plus the whole concept of drawing something that would explode at command was laughable, at best. Naruto shrugged and resumed his excited grin. He would try it, first. If nothing worked, he'd do something else.

He brought his hand into the ram seal and concentrated.

"Naruto!"

His concentration broke as Mizuki entered the clearing, looking grave.

"Mizuki-sensei! I learned a jutsu! Want to see it?"

Mizuki didn't speak. He only unlatched a windmill shuriken from his back.

"Sensei?"

The man grinned and flicked the giant star at the dumbstruck blond, who tripped backwards over a root and landed heavily on his butt. A rush of air and a distant _thunk _told him that the star had gone over his head and lodged itself into a tree. Naruto looked frightened as Mizuki took a step forward and spoke.

"Uzumaki Naruto, your judgement has come."

"W-what?"

Mizuki made to grab the other star and Naruto bolted, throwing himself behind the nearest tree.

"And the fox hides...how poetic that the great demon should cower in fear as his day came, just as many of his victims cowered...yes...this is fitting," Mizuki whispered. "You should know, Naruto. The day the Kyuubi was sealed into you was a day of rejoicing."

Naruto froze from behind the tree.

_What? _

"Would you like to know why?"

Naruto didn't answer.

"Despite the pain we all suffered from just looking at you...we knew that you were weak, extinguishable. We knew that once you peeked out from under the robes of the Hokage, you were ours to kill. You were no longer a god. You were a weak, _stupid _little child. And that, Naruto, is something to rejoice."

Mizuki suddenly appeared around the tree. Naruto yelled in terror and tried to escape, tearing at the firm grip on his collar. Mizuki grunted and, with one arm, tossed Naruto across the clearing into the wall of the cottage. Blood sprayed from the blond's lips as his back slammed into the stone, his head whipping back with unrivaled force as it made a crater in the wall.

Mizuki's laughs greeted his efforts to stand.

"Demons will never give up, will they?"

Naruto ignored him and stood, his balance unstable and shaky. Suddenly the man disappeared and a foot slammed into Naruto's chin, sending the boy high in the air. The hard roof of the shack greeted the blond's face as he slammed into it. Crimson swam in front of his eyes and his surroundings became blurry as Naruto laid on the rooftop, his mind swimming. A small vibration tickled his cheek as Mizuki landed nimbly onto the roof beside him.

"W-Why?"

Mizuki paused at Naruto's small plea.

"Why?" repeated Mizuki quietly.

There was a silence. Naruto could only see Mizuki's feet as he lay against the rooftop, so he could not see the look on the man's face.

Suddenly Naruto gasped as he felt a vice-like grip clench his throat. As he was lifted into the air, the boy saw the look in Mizuki's eyes and froze.

"WHY?"

The man reached into his holder and pulled out a kunai with his free hand while choking Naruto with the other. The look on his face was no longer anger - it was fear. Mizuki's eyes were those of a dead man walking, a man that knew his final act was drawing near. As the kunai drew closer, Mizuki screamed one last sentence.

"YOU...YOU..." he screamed, mad with fear, "YOU MURDERED MY FAMILY!"

Naruto saw the knife approaching almost in slow motion. Instinctively, he closed his eyes, focusing on his chakra.

His hand curled into the ram seal.

The rooftop of the shack creaked one last time beneath the feet of Mizuki.

The world disappeared and a dimension of blinding light and searing heat exploded around them. Naruto felt the grip on his throat get wrenched away as Mizuki's skin turned the color of coal and his eyes exploded in two sick, bubbling _pops. _Clothes were turned to ash instantly, and hair turned black before disappearing in smoking clouds. Naruto felt his clothes disintegrate, but his eyes were locked in horror on Mizuki as the man's skin was blown away in bunches and bone was seared with heat until it glowed and cracked. Naruto could not feel pain; if anything, the flames felt _cool, _almost cold to touch as they streamed across his naked body.

The blinding light stopped after what seemed to be ages and a choking, heavy smoke replaced it. The smell of singed flesh hung heavily in the air. Naruto lay on his back, eyes wide and breath coming in short huffs. The ringing in his ears was disorienting and sickening as he turned onto his side, pushing aside pieces of burnt stone and wood. Though his vision was blurry, he could make out a prone figure across the clearing, black and smoking. The final image was too much to handle and he threw up down his front and onto the grass before passing out.

A small scroll lay some distance away, relatively unharmed and glowing a gentle blue.

* * *

Review please?


	2. Aftershock

This is AM, welcome back to The Uzumaki Tag Company

Don't be worried if this chapter suggests a pairing; there will be many more things to happen and at this moment I'm not really thinking of pairings, to be honest. Maybe in later chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do want to marry Hinata. And possibly Kurenai. And Anko. And...Samui. And...Temari. Nevermind.

* * *

Chapter 2: Aftershock

Darkness peeled away and light shone brightly. Blue eyes squinted upwards towards the white ceiling of a hospital room, glazed with confusion and curiosity. His arms were at his sides; he pressed down gently with his fingertips and felt silk thread weaves and a comfortable mattress. The familiar texture soothed his confusion; the smooth softness invited him deeper into the bed and he obliged, allowing it to envelop him in its warmth. Just as he was about to return to unconsciousness, he heard a whisper.

"Naruto?"

The blond started; the room was not as empty as he had hoped. He turned his head a little and gazed at his visitor, only to begin staring.

"Ino?"

Ino Yamanaka sat before him, her face conflicted and her arms awkwardly crossed. Her usual purple clothing looked as crisp and clean as ever, and her hair was tied back in the usual ponytail. Her eyes showed both annoyance and – much to Naruto's surprise - pity as she gazed upon the blond. Despite the lack of visible injuries, Ino seemed genuinely sorry for Naruto, though she did not know why he had come to be in the hospital. A person with shinobi abilities often had to experience immense pain or mental suffering before it was necessary for them to be hospitalized; she would know, considering that she was apprenticed to her father, the Head of Psychology at Konoha General Inoichi Yamanaka.

"Ino?"

Naruto whispered again, and Ino noticed that he had slowly pulled out his hand from beneath the sheet and was now reaching towards her. Ino, for a moment, believed he expected her to take it, but she was taken aback when the hand landed on her shoulder and gave her a weak shove backwards. Immediately she was on her feet, confused and fuming, her hands tight at her sides.

"Naruto-"

"_Please."_

Instantly she stopped, once again surprised. Naruto's face was distraught, his arm collapsed over the side of the bed and his shoulders tense. Never before had she seen any expression besides happiness leave the boy's face; in fact, it took her a few moments to realize that she had never seen the boy _not _smile. The boy she remembered had always sported a cheeky grin, as though he knew something someone else didn't and was bursting at the seams to tell them. The boy before her now, however, was an exact opposite. His eyes looked broken; his whole body looked like that of a cornered animal, tense and frightened. Ino took a step forward.

"_Please," _Naruto whispered. "_I don't want to. I don't want to."_

Ino leaned against the bed and brought her face lower, inspecting the dark bags beneath the blond's eyes and the terror racing through his trembling lips.

"Don't want to what?" Ino whispered back, and Naruto's eyes locked onto hers with such intensity that she was frozen in place, unable to do anything but stare into his turbulent soul. Naruto remained silent for a moment before speaking softly.

"_I don't want to...hurt...anyone...please...go."_

His eyelids slid down over his eyes like blinds and Ino was released from her trance, her heart beating erratically as she gaped down at Naruto.

"Ino? You ready?"

Inoichi walked into the hospital room just as Naruto moaned lightly to himself, shying away from the adult voice. Ino hesitated before answering.

"Why can't you do this?"

Inoichi sighed as they both stared down at Naruto.

"Right now he is not stable. If someone enters his mind, they will need to be someone he trusts; your age and your acquaintance with him should be sufficient to allow you deep enough into his subconscious. He would not take well to a fully grown and strange man meandering through his mind."

Ino sighed, pretending that she wasn't deeply intrigued. This was a new Naruto, she knew; something huge must have happened, and she just _had _to figure out what it was. Her father nodded at her and took a seat against the wall with a clipboard as Ino placed a hand on Naruto's tanned forehead and closed her eyes. Inoichi pulled out a recorder and pushed a red button on its side.

"We are here to assess the mental condition of Uzumaki Naruto, age 13," he intoned clearly, referring to his clipboard. "Subject has academy training in the ninja arts; he has experienced possible trauma during a stressful and life threatening event. Apprentice Ino Yamanaka will mindwalk, Head of Psychology Inoichi Yamanaka will observe. Ino will now begin."

Ino took the cue and a few hand seals later, she slumped over in her chair. Naruto's body went rigid and the silk sheets slid from the bed onto the floor before his muscles relaxed and he sunk back into the soft mattress.

* * *

Ino padded through the dark corridor, her blond hair whipping about as she frantically ran from the noises.

"DEMON!"

The disembodied voice blasted into her face she stumbled to a halt and began to run the other direction, tears streaming down her cheeks and frightened sobs racking her body. The sewer floor was damp, as though there had been a recent deluge, and the surface was slippery and unstable. Everywhere around her screams echoed; they came from great distances away and yet immediately around her, causing her to twist and turn as she desperately fought to escape. Turning a corner, she saw the mutilated, charred corpse of a man slowly limping towards her, his mouth opened in a horrifying scream as fire flickered from his eye sockets. She reversed herself and slid down another passage, hoping to out-race the horrors present within the mindscape.

"_This way..."_

She heard the faint echo just as she was passing another hallway. Her feet sliding on the floor, she stopped and listened again, wishing the voice belonged to Naruto.

"_This way..."_

She immediately raced towards the echo, certain that it was Naruto's voice. Whimpers still shook past her lips, and now her body was wracked in panic as she raced towards her objective, hoping that nothing stood in her way besides the screams of disembodied children and men.

She reached a giant set of doors that were ajar; standing in the opening was Naruto, his eyes uncharacteristically serious as he beckoned towards her. She sobbed and nearly bowled him over as she burst through the gap and locked the port behind her, and then she slid to the floor, her hands covering her eyes and salty tears pouring between her fingertips.

"I hurt you..."

Ino looked up and saw Naruto's face locked in conflict.

"I hurt you, Ino," Naruto turned and walked towards the back of the room, which Ino now noticed to contain a huge set of bars with the kanji for "seal" written on the center. "Why did you come in here?"

Ino only stared, tears still leaking down her face. Naruto looked up through the bars and ignored her, as though he had not expected an answer. Closing his eyes, he put his hand on the bar and spoke.

"_Kyuubi."_

A pair of giant red eyes materialized from the void behind the bars and Ino screamed, horrified at the magnitude of the fox demon.

Naruto didn't even look at her and continued speaking.

"May I have a favor?"

"**Name it,**" the demon spoke, its voice deep and ancient. "**Namikaze.**"

"I wish for you to help Ms. Yamanaka out of this place; it appears that a jutsu is keeping her here for a specified length of time and I cannot break it. I am sure she would prefer not to remain in my mind any longer."

The Kyuubi nodded and red chakra leapt from the bars in the form of nine miniature foxes. Naruto finally turned to Ino and locked eyes with her, once again freezing her in place.

"I'm sorry...for causing you pain..."

Ino could only gape into his distraught eyes as the vulpine creatures leapt past him and into her arms, covering her body with a red cloud as they dispersed on impact. Her surroundings began to darken and she sunk to her knees.

"Please...don't tell anyone..." came a whispered plea, just as Ino's world went pitch black.

Ino knew no more.

* * *

Inoichi Yamanaka was stunned.

Ino was waking up a full hour ahead of schedule, looking visibly shaken as she stumbled away from the bedside, her eyes never leaving the blond. The father stood and grabbed her from behind, causing her to jump in fright and slap away his hands. Once she saw who it was however, she threw herself onto him and sunk into his arms, shaking. The man rubbed his daughter's back and frowned at Naruto, who looked to be experiencing pain as winces flashed across his whiskered face.

Inoichi set Ino down on his chair and reclaimed his recorder, pushing the red button once again.

"Subject has shown considerable degeneration of mental faculty; possibility of recovery is very slim," he intoned, glancing at Ino, who seemed to have broken out of her fright and was listening desperately to his words.

Inoichi frowned, searching his daughters eyes, his own calculating ones flashing. He made one last sigh before finishing, completely aware of Ino's presence and ability to hear his final documentation of Naruto's condition.

"The seal is still intact, despite mental degradation. There is little chance of the Nine Tailed Fox escaping."

At these words, Ino slumped into her chair, oblivious to the world, only hearing the echoes of a whisper that entered her mind just as she was blacking out.

"_Please...don't tell anyone..._"

* * *

Short chapter, but I felt it was important to show the effects that killing Mizuki had on him.

Review please!


	3. A Month or Two

This is AM, welcome back! Sorry for the delayed post, I've had a lot going on recently. Just know that I'm NOT finished. Unfortunate for some of you, haha...

No pairings yet; no yaoi

Disclaimer: I can't draw. Go figure.

* * *

Chapter 3: A Month or Two

"Naruto."

Blue eyes met the speaker's. Sarutobi stared deeply into them, wondering what could possibly be manifesting in the blond's mind.

"You understand what I'm asking of you, correct?"

"Y-yes," Naruto stuttered, his voice hoarse from disuse.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and began to fill his pipe. The Hokage's office looked exactly the same as always; paperwork littered the desk, the portraits of past and present Hokages graced the walls, and unnatural shadows filled the upper corners of the room, signifying the presence of ANBU.

_But things are much, much different from before_, Sarutobi mused as he examined the silent boy before him. His eyes then flicked upwards and he cleared his throat.

"Come in," he commanded, and the doors of the office opened, revealing none other than Umino Iruka.

"Iruka-san, I'm assuming that you heard the entire conversation?"

Iruka looked sheepish. The Hokage motioned toward the seat adjacent to Naruto and Iruka quickly took it, sending glances at the boy.

"The events of last month have been heavily kept under wraps. Only the jounin are aware of what happened. You of course, are an exception, considering your part in Naruto's rescue."

Naruto looked up at Iruka in confusion. Iruka met his gaze and, at a gesture from Sarutobi, began to explain.

"Mizuki and I used to live together -" Naruto flinched at the name but Iruka continued, "- and we were associates for years. We were never friends; though he was an exceptional teacher I always felt...distant from him. He kept people away and didn't want them close. Having a roommate was, to him, convenient for financial reasons..."

Iruka received a blank look from Naruto.

"Anyway, three months ago he started to change. He started buying up all sorts of gear and equipment that his kind of salary would definitely not cover...trust me, I would know."

Iruka's eyes flicked in annoyance towards the Hokage and Sarutobi blushed and coughed.

"I got suspicious. He was getting the money from somewhere, and the Records office told me that Mizuki's last mission had been four years ago - not exactly current. A month later I found a letter in one of his pants pockets as I was doing the laundry. It was less a letter of correspondence than it was a contract; it seemed that Mizuki had accepted payment by some underground organization for a mission. The letter didn't say what the mission was, but the amount being paid...well, let's just say he wasn't being paid to carry groceries."

Naruto looked confused but the teacher continued.

"A month and a half ago I convinced Morino Ibiki, the Head of Interrogation, to run a background check and investigation on Mizuki, a request which reopened the case of two dead chunin, his ex-teammates. After that, ANBU watched our house 24/7, never leaving Mizuki alone. As I suspected, Mizuki began acting very strange, as though the pressure was getting to him. One day, about a month ago, I came home, pretended to be tired, and went upstairs. I sneaked out a window and came here. By the time I arrived, Hokage-same was leaving his office."

The Hokage blushed deeper at this and Iruka grinned slightly.

"He had blood streaming from his nose."

Naruto's eyes widened in understanding.

"T-t-t-that w-was the night th-that I..."

"Yes," Iruka affirmed. "Upon questioning, Hokage-sama reluctantly admitted that you were responsible, which led to him revealing that you were here...basically, he told me everything and begged me not to tell."

The Hokage frowned and muttered, "Two and a half minutes after promising not to tell anyone, I tell someone. I must be getting old."

Naruto cocked his head slightly and spoke.

"But y-you're already o-old Jiji."

Sarutobi glared at the blank faced boy and Iruka smirked before continuing.

"Almost immediately I knew something was wrong. Uzumaki Naruto breaks into the mother lode of all powerful jutsu and leaves without taking anything? Not exactly something you'd do, am I right?"

Naruto looked down, but his face was still emotionless.

"It was I," Sarutobi began, "who tracked you down with my crystal ball. I told Iruka where to find you and...I watched what happened."

Iruka cut in.

"I was in the clearing within a minute of the explosion...there was nothing left. Mizuki was...definitely not a threat anymore so I tore through the wreckage for you, fearing the worst. But then I found you, and I was shocked at what I saw."

Naruto's head snapped up and he stared questioningly.

"You were completely okay. Besides being totally naked and having a few scratches, you were in perfect shape. Anything you stole must have been disintegrated in the blast..."

Iruka watched Naruto, but the boy didn't betray any emotion.

"W-What n-now?"

Sarutobi sighed.

"The Hospital agreed that you were okay to be released. You may return to your apartment now, I believe that's enough for today."

Naruto rose from his seat and looked ready to leave. Just as he bowed to the Hokage, the doors burst open and a pink-haired man strode in angrily, his teeth bared.

"What is the meaning of this, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi looked sour.

"I'm sure I don't have any idea of what you mean, Haruno-san."

The man saw Naruto and sneered disgustedly at him before redoubling his assault on the Hokage.

"I am told that my daughter was ordered to retake the academy courses by some idiotic jounin!"

Iruka got up and led Naruto away with a hand, his face as sour as the Hokage's. Just as the doors closed behind them, they heard the man scream, "And not just her, but the Uchiha as well!"

Iruka shook his head in disbelief before turning to Naruto, eyeing him gently.

"I'm glad you're okay."

Naruto muttered a small 'thank you' and walked away.

"Naruto..."

The blond turned around and looked at his instructor one last time, his face still blank. Iruka gave him a serious stare.

"You left something in the clearing, so I took the liberty to put it in your apartment. It seemed private so I hid it between the pipes underneath the sink. As it obviously was a...possession of yours, I didn't feel it was necessary to tell anyone...was I correct in doing so?"

Naruto's face finally morphed into surprise and Iruka leveled him with a warning gaze.

"I don't have to tell you to be careful."

The words hung in the air and Naruto's eyes bore into Iruka's, determination filling the blue voids.

"Not anymore."

* * *

The door of Naruto's apartment opened and the boy's shadow filled the hallway. The place had been broken into again; obscenities graced the walls and crude images of dead foxes were spray painted against the couch and kitchen cabinets. Naruto didn't care.

He opened the cabinet beneath the sink and pawed around. His fingers brushed against a familiar object and he gripped it and pulled. He stared a the scroll for a moment before pocketing it and leaving the apartment, hearing the door creaking slightly behind him.

* * *

One Month Later

A figure flew through the trees, making hardly a sound.

"**Faster."**

The person became a blur as he weaved between the branches.

"**Faster." **

Falling leaves were split into millions of pieces as an almost invisible force slammed into them. Small grunts could be heard and random cracks started to emanate from the branches.

"**FASTER."**

Suddenly, the side of a tree exploded into shards of bark and a boy tumbled from its heights, landing with a mighty crash among the fauna shading the cool soil of the forest.

"**More control," **the Kyuubi muttered, sending out his chakra to heal the unconscious boy. "**Otherwise, you've made an intriguing improvement..."**

Naruto materialized within his mindscape. It no longer resembled a sewer; instead he was standing on a wide street, a tiny pinprick next to buildings that seemed to stretch into infinity. The city scape around him was silent. Kyuubi's image appeared like a reflection on the side of one of the skyscrapers, his all-knowing gaze focused upon the blond.

"**Yes...you're becoming extraordinarily strong in the time you have been given...but with the path you have in mind...it is not enough."**

Naruto nodded but didn't speak. Kyuubi grunted in approval at the boy's determination.

"**Tell me," **inquired Kyuubi, "**what do you want now?"**

Naruto was silent for a few moments before answering carefully.

"I appreciate all of your help. Without you I would still be...unworthy of the life I've chosen. Without your gifts, I would have become the victim of my own mistakes. Now, all I ask for is the chance to meet you in person..."

Kyuubi looked surprised and Naruto waited for an answer.

"**You...want a summoning contract?"**

The boy nodded and bowed onto one knee in deference.

"It is my hopes that I can repay my savior. Unfortunately it won't be true freedom, but until I figure out how the seal works, it is the best I can provide. And I will provide it, if you wish. I promise to only summon you when you desire."

Kyuubi was still surprised.

"**So you don't intend to use me as a weapon...interesting. I can see the truth within your soul. You are not lying."**

Naruto was appraised him for another moment before answering.

"**Very well. I thank you, boy, but I must say..." **

The reflection of the fox paused and closed its eyes. The clouds above turned orange and red, as though sunset were descending upon the city. Naruto stood and held his arms out, waiting.

The _pit-patter _of rain could be heard as a curtain of red water raced from the heavens and drizzled the world in crimson. Blue eyes closed, enjoying the warm splashes on his skin. The Kyuubi opened its eyes and finished.

"...i**t is I that has yet to repay you."**

Naruto felt the rain slowly disappear from his skin and he opened his eyes. A forest canvas greeted his vision. For the first time in days, a smile graced his lips.

"I can't ask you to repay me, Kyuubi," Naruto murmured. "I don't deserve it."

* * *

Naruto got to his apartment and turned on the shower, wincing at the sudden burning sensation on the skin of his back. He slid out of his rags and turned to examine himself in the mirror. The ghost of a smile slid onto his face.

"Woah."

A monstrous fox tattoo draped itself over his back, its maw wide in anger and claws outstretched. Its blond fur was sleeked back and the eyes were vivid blue, like Naruto's.

"**Like your contract, kid?"**

Naruto nodded, knowing that the Kyuubi could feel everything he felt.

"**Good. I always felt that the other summoning contracts lacked creativity. Hmph."**

Naruto bathed himself and had just gotten out of the shower when he heard the doorbell ring. Cursing inwardly, he desperately tried to come up with a solution but the doorbell rang again and he was left with no choice. Quickly, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it tightly around his waist, ignoring the multiple knocks and hoping that the impatient person at the door wouldn't mind that he was half-naked. He strode from the bathroom towards the door and pressed his ear against it.

"Isn't this where the dobe lives?" came a muffled voice.

"This is where Iruka-san told us to go..." came a slightly irritated voice. "Honestly, I don't know why they asked us to get Naruto. If only it could just be us two, Sasuke-kun..."

_Sakura? Sasuke? _Naruto identified, slightly confused.

"Hmph. I haven't seen that dobe in months. He probably quit being a ninja. That's what happens to most people can't even pass the academy test," Sasuke smugly spoke.

Naruto decided that it was time to answer the door. He placed his hand on the handle just as he heard Sakura start to say something.

"Yeah, he's probably all fat and gross and - "

The door swung open and Sakura and Sasuke turned in surprise. Naruto placed his hands on either sides of the doorway, as though blocking it casually and smiled slightly.

"Can I help you?"

Sakura felt her cheeks getting hot as she watched small droplets of water roll down from Naruto's hair onto his ripped torso and heavily defined abs. His hair was long enough to hang just over his eyes, and his tan gave him the look of an Adonis.

"Yo, dobe, get a shirt on."

Naruto tilted his head at Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, I was just taking a shower. I sensed a pretty girl at the door and didn't want to keep her waiting."

Sakura felt light headed and Sasuke growled slightly.

"What is it you need?" Naruto asked and he folded he arms over his chest, making his biceps expand impressively.

The pink haired girl tried to casually sit on the walkway rail, pretending as though her legs weren't giving out beneath her.

"We've all been called to the Hokage's office," Sasuke spoke, averting his eyes. "I don't know what for."

"Cool. Give me a couple minutes and I'll be right out. Whoops!"

The towel began to slip but Naruto caught it in time. He threw a cheeky grin at Sakura.

"That was close...wouldn't want something like _that _hanging out in front of guests..."

Sakura's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she almost tumbled backwards over the railing, but Sasuke pulled her back in time. Naruto closed the door behind himself and his grin slid off of his face.

_That was easy enough to fake, _Naruto mused to himself. _You never realize how phony emotions are until you lose them..._

Naruto dropped his towel and strode to the closet. He grabbed a black long sleeve shirt and some faded jeans and put them on, pushing the sleeves up to his elbows. He grabbed some sneakers and laced them up, wondering what the Hokage could possibly want.

* * *

"Come in," an old voice spoke and the three teens walked into the Hokage's office. Sarutobi sat at his desk, smoking as usual.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Haruno Sakura. Uzumaki Naruto."

They waited patiently as the Hokage withdrew a file from his desk.

"You all have had the required Academy training yet, through various circumstances, you all did not reach Genin rank."

Sasuke seemed to tense up and Sakura looked extremely guilty, but Naruto stared forward blankly. Sarutobi glanced at each of them before continuing.

"I have decided to remedy that. Effective immediately, you are all now Genin rank. Congratulations."

Sasuke literally took a step back in surprise and Sakura let out a half squeal of disbelief, but Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Sir, if I may?"

Sarutobi motioned for him to continue.

"We may all have academy training, but they passed the final exam," Naruto formally adressed the Hokage. "I'm wondering why I should be given any lenience."

Sakura looked at the blond in surprise and Sasuke suddenly felt respect for the blond, though he didn't know why. The Hokage smiled.

"Well, due to the events of late, it has been decided to give you one more chance. I gave you the title of genin on technicality; you would only receive the rank if you could pass the standard academy test."

Naruto paled slightly.

"But sir, I still don't know how to do the Bunshin."

Sarutobi grinned.

"The test is for _any _kind of Bunshin. Come here for a moment."

Naruto approached the desk and Sarutobi slid him a piece of parchment.

"This," the wizened man spoke, "is the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. If you can make at least one clone on the first try, then you will be irrevocably declared a Genin."

Naruto couldn't help but feel that this was slightly unfair, but he felt that the old man wouldn't give him a chance like this and not expect him to be able to do it.

"Oh, and another thing," Sarutobi spoke up. "Kage Bunshin is very chakra intensive."

Naruto got the point and made an unfamiliar hand seal. Sakura and Sasuke watched in silence, both wondering how Naruto could possibly be able to pull off a technique on his first try. Naruto summoned his chakra, feeling it easily flow in a relaxed current.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" _he shouted.

Smoke filled the room.

_Clap. Clap. Clap._

Sarutobi applauded the dumbfounded blond, who saw at least ten copies of himself beside him. The copies walked over and each to a turn putting their hands on his shoulder, nodding in approval.

"The Kage Bunshin makes solid clones, Naruto. It's very difficult because it involves massive amounts of chakra and the mental strain can be difficult...every time a clone is dissipated its memories return to you. This makes it a valuable spying tool, though it is very weak and will disappear at anything more than a playful slap on the back..."

Naruto nodded and stepped back, ignoring the jealous look on Sasuke's face. Sakura just gazed at Naruto with stars in her eyes.

Sarutobi smiled.

"Now that Team Haruzuchiha is finally formed," Sarutobi grinned at his pun, "it's time for your first mission."

The three leaned forward in anticipation and Sarutobi sucked on his pipe.

"You three will work at the internal Shinobi library for an indefinite period of time. You will act as curators, collectors of scrolls and, when necessary, retrieval guards for scrolls that have been stolen or gone missing. I believe that in time you will all realize that you all have certain inherent...skills that make you most suited for this mission. You may report to Iruka-san for full details."

The three blankly stared.

"You may now go."

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto spilled out into the hallway and the Hokage's doors closed behind them. They were silent for a few moments.

"Let me get this straight," Naruto slowly asked. "Are we...librarians?"

* * *

Yes, I saved Iruka. Oh don't worry, I'm plenty merciless. People WILL die. I'm a pretty dark person...expect the worst.

Hate where this is going? Don't care? Love it? REVIEW!


	4. Explosions and Expectations

This is AM, welcoming you back to UTF! I posted quicker this time, seeing as I took so long for the last chapter. Also, your reviews really inspired me to keep writing! KEEP REVIEWING! I'm doing this for the writing critique; hopefully some of you who have provided some constructive criticism in the past chapters will see that I listened to their advice.

No yaoi; pairing TBD

Disclaimer: I'm not Misashi Kishimoto, therefore I do not have a harem.

* * *

Chapter 4: Explosions and Expectations

Naruto stared down at the purple mission scroll that lay on the table. His eyes flicked upwards at Iruka, uncertainty shining within them. Iruka raised an eyebrow.

"Everything alright, Naruto?"

The blond nodded but didn't move forward to retrieve the scroll. With a scoff, Sasuke knocked him aside and snatched it up, hearing no protest.

"What's wrong, moron? Your tiny brain can't handle being in a library?"

Naruto's fierce blue eyes snapped up but Sasuke didn't flinch. The boy stared obstinately back, his onyx eyes like black holes against his pale face.

Naruto kept his stare up for a few moments before turning his back and muttering, "Just overwhelmed is all."

"Hmph," Sasuke snorted, though he felt the same as Naruto. The team walked out of the mission room and exited the building.

"Don't bother yourself too much. They only promoted us so they have some grunts to sort out their crap."

Naruto glanced up questioningly at the black haired boy. Sakura looked confused as well.

"Don't you realize?" Sasuke spoke. "It's a shinobi _library. _They wouldn't let any civilians work there, or else it's a matter of national security. They don't want to waste high level ninja either, so they use genin. The weakest of the weak. Hmph."

"And with our circumstances," Naruto muttered. "We were prime pickings, weren't we? The runt of the litter, the team that failed to pass its genin test but still graduated the academy...the team least likely to be any help to the ninja force. Though I don't understand why you're on this team detail, Sasuke."

Sasuke stopped and smirked at Naruto.

"Finally recognizing my superiority?"

"Hell no," Naruto bit back, showing irritation for the first time in months. "I may not care what clan you're from, but others do, especially the council members. They've been praising your existence from day one. I wonder what they were thinking when they made you a _librarian _of all things."

"Maybe they thought he'd learn new techniques?" Sakura chimed in. "It's a shinobi library after all..."

"Yeah, but only chuunin level ninjas can access the more advanced technique scrolls," Naruto retorted. "I heard that from Iruka-sensei when I was begging him to teach me more stuff. The council would probably make an exception for you, though. Turn left up here, let's get something to eat."

Sasuke's eyes grew dark as they rounded the corner and headed toward Ichiraku's.

"I'm not accepting any sort of help from those bastards," Sasuke muttered.

"The council?" Naruto asked, genuinely surprised at the boy's anger. "I thought they were on good terms with the Uchiha."

"Yeah, when we were _alive,_" Sasuke muttered.

He then turned to Sakura, who jumped at his sudden attention to her.

"Sakura, where do I live?"

"Five blocks from here in the rich district," she responded instantly, before blushing bright red.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Not in the Uchiha Clan Compound?"

Sakura was about to respond before a look of confusion came over her face.

"Exactly," Sasuke laughed. "Want to know why?"

Naruto's eyes widened.

"They didn't-"

"Oh yes, Naruto, they _did,_" Sasuke interrupted. "Sakura, there is no Uchiha clan compound anymore. It didn't take a week after...what happened... for the council to completely level the area, clear it of buildings and find a buyer for it. Now it's all warehouses."

"That's...horrible," Sakura muttered. "Your clan was one of the founding families!"

"Only because we were rich."

The three entered Ichiraku's and sat down. Teuchi greeted Naruto warmly and took their orders.

"I've...never heard you talk this much."

Sasuke returned Naruto's piercing gaze.

"Never heard you talk this little."

Naruto blinked in surprise. Sasuke smirked and continued his rant.

"Anyway, my point is that the council is a bunch of greedy sellouts! Sure they act nice to me, but in reality I'm just the boy standing in between them and the Uchiha fortune. They got the land because my father didn't say who was to receive it when no other Uchiha was alive...not that he could have guessed what would happen. They've squeezed every cent out of my family that they've could, so anything they give to me I'm either sharing with you guys or throwing back in their faces!"

"Sharing with us?" Naruto was taken aback. "What happened to you in the last two months, Sasuke?"

Sasuke glared. Ayame placed their steaming orders in front of them. Sakura thanked her for the speedy service, seeing as the boys were engrossed in conversation.

"Don't get me wrong. I figure there's one thing that would piss them off above everything else," Sasuke smirked. "And that would be helping you. They hate you, for some reason. I hear about it whenever they call me in to whine to me about how my money is going to waste."

"Wait 'till you figure out why," Naruto muttered and dug into his ramen.

"Wait, Ino said something about that," Sakura suddenly spoke.

Naruto's chopsticks cracked in half between his fingers and his eyes bore into hers.

"What?"

"I talked to Ino a couple weeks ago about you," Sakura informed smartly, laying a napkin across her lap. "She mentioned something about you being in the hospital."

His heart skipped a beat and Naruto felt panic and anger begin to rise in the pit of his stomach.

"Did she happen to mention _why?" _he asked in horror.

"Overeating," Sakura answered with a teasing smirk. "She said that you had so much in your stomach that it could have killed you."

Naruto leaned back and laughed. It seemed that Ino had recovered from the incident inside of his mind. More than recovered, even. Sakura looked confused at his happy reaction.

_Too much in my stomach? _Naruto chuckled internally._ Wow. Just wow. _

"**I like that girl,**" Kyuubi spoke inside of the blond's mind. "**She's clever. Though inform her next time that I would rather not be compared to an eating disorder.**"

_Got it, _Naruto chuckled. _I have to see her soon. _

"So the council hates me because I eat too much?" Naruto grinned at her while slurping some more ramen.

"No," Sakura huffed. "Apparently you make restaurants lose business...at least, that's the impression my father gave me. He owns the Swordfish Cafe on the other side of town."

Naruto mumbled something that the other two couldn't hear. His dark expression told them enough, though. He then looked up at Teuchi with an odd expression.

"Teuchi-san...is this true?"

Teuchi finished polishing the bowl in his hands before closing his eyes and answering, "How I fare financially is none of your business."

Naruto looked down quickly.

"But know this, Naruto. Financial issues aside...you're the best thing that's ever happened to this stand," Teuchi smiled, and then waved a spatula warningly in front of the blond's face. "Remember that whenever you consider leaving us alone."

Naruto smiled gently and picked up a new set of chopsticks, brushing the broken ones aside.

"I will, Teuchi-san. Thank you for your kindness."

The team ate until their bowls were sparkling clean and bid each other farewell after planning to meet up the next day. Sasuke turned left and walked toward the wealthy district. Sakura turned right and headed for the merchant district. Naruto paused for a moment and watched both of them leave. Sasuke's stiff form reminded Naruto of a lone wolf, prowling cautiously yet keeping its head high. Sakura's pink hair swayed from side to side in the breeze as she skipped home, dancing on the tips of her toes as she rose up and down. The blond finished musing and scoffed lightly to himself, shaking the hair out of his eyes and brushing it aside with a hand.

"Things are going to be different, aren't they?" Naruto asked, but Kyuubi didn't respond.

They both knew the answer. Uzumaki Naruto resigned himself and closed his eyes before walking straight ahead, knowing that the lonely slums loomed off into the distance.

* * *

"**Katon! Gokakyu no Jutsu!**"

The log in front of Sasuke burst into flames as a huge fireball manifested from his mouth. The Uchiha smirked and turned to see his teammates' reactions. Sakura looked amazed, and her eyes followed the flickering tendrils of flame licking up the blackened log. Naruto was...

"What are you doing, moron?"

Naruto looked up. He was back in his hideous orange training suit, considering that he was now a genin and had to dress like one in public. He was sitting cross-legged with a drawing pad on his lap and a pen in hand.

"I'm training."

Sasuke scoffed and walked forward to see the book. He glanced down at the seal array and smirked.

"How is a drawing going to help you be a ninja?"

Naruto stood instantly.

"It's not a drawing. I saw what you did...and I'm still wondering when any _real _ninja technique is going to happen."

Sasuke growled and Sakura decided to intervene before an inevitable brawl broke out.

"Hey Naruto, why don't you show us a technique?" she suggested. "And not the Kage Bunshin, because we know about that."

Naruto shrugged and pulled out a kunai before approaching the second log. He crouched for a moment and began to carve.

"Moron, when are you going to be able to do that in battle?" Sasuke taunted, still wondering what Naruto's technique involved. "You'll be dead as soon as you turn your back."

"I won't be doing this in a fight," Naruto muttered. "I have a crateful of tags just for this one technique. I'm not going to waste one just for the sake of bragging."

He finished and stepped back, admiring his work. Sasuke looked bored. Naruto made a ram seal.

"That's it? You're ready? Oh please," Sasuke scoffed. "You can't expect _that _to do any - "

"_Release._"

_BOOM!_

A pillar of flames rocketed in the sky as an inferno enveloped the log. Sasuke stared, dumbfounded as the wood blackened, then turned red, then white until high pitched whistling and the sound of splintering wood filled the air. All of the sudden, the flames abruptly went out and the log began to turn to ash, sliding slowly to the ground.

"What the FUCK?" Sasuke screamed, his eyes still wide from the devastation.

Naruto smirked and walked over to the circle of charred earth where the small mound of ash sat smoking.

"That was one of my better ones," Naruto muttered.

Sasuke glanced from the pile to the blond and back to the pile again before he could speak.

"Naruto, teach me."

The blond turned questioningly and smirked.

"Why should I, with an attitude like that?

Sasuke closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth.

"Teach me how to do this," he mumbled, looking like he was ready to punch the blond. "_Please._"

Naruto grinned and Sasuke growled. The tension in the air mounted and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Please say yes before he pops a blood vessel," Sakura teased, giggling.

"Sakura, shut up!" Sasuke retorted, the vein on his neck twitching dangerously. "This is a matter of life and death!"

Sakura rolled her eyes again. Naruto considered this for a moment before responding.

"Give me your eyes."

The air temperature dropped a couple degrees. Sakura's smile vanished, and was replaced by a look of horror. Sasuke stared emotionlessly. The blond only grinned.

"What...did you say?" Sasuke murmured.

"Give me your eyes, and we'll call it even."

Rage flashed across Sasuke's face.

"Like HELL!"

Sasuke flung himself at Naruto and pulled a kunai from his pouch. The blond grinned and pulled something from his pocket before kicking hard from the ground and vanishing, leaving small craters behind.

"What the - " Sasuke stuttered, sliding to a stop and twisting in every direction.

A flash of orange caught his eye and he blocked a kick aimed at his midsection, still shocked at the blond's speed.

"How - are -you," Sasuke grunted with each impact as Naruto disappeared and reappeared, leaving behind bruises on Sasuke's arms, "so - FAST?"

A hand seemingly materialized out of thin air and slammed Sasuke in the chest, sending him flying backwards a few feet. Finally, Naruto appeared, panting heavily. Sasuke grinned and began to take a step forward before something stopped him. Naruto was grinning widely, his arm outstretched and an index finger pointing toward the Uchiha's chest. Sasuke looked down and saw, with increasing horror, a tag with a familiar array attached to the front of his shirt. Naruto's other hand shot upwards into the ram seal. Sasuke's heart seized up in fright, his mind remembering the blast that decimated the log and imagining the same happening to himself. His onyx eyes closed in terror as he waited for the explosion, only hearing his gasping breath and his frantic heart.

"Got you."

The gleeful voice whispered in his ear and a moment later a fist slammed into his temple, sending him sprawling into the dirt. The Uchiha was stunned; was Naruto really _this _strong? What had he been doing in the last two months?

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Sakura's voice came from the side, and Sasuke remembered where he was.

The Uchiha yelled in frustration and stood, making fast seals and glaring at the blond with all of his killing intent. The tired container was too exhausted to move and he watched as Sasuke ended with tiger seal.

_Damn, I poured too much chakra into that demonstration, _Naruto cursed inwardly. _And now the moron is trying to fry me with a Katon technique. _

"**Well, at least the boy will be shitting his pants when he sees how you take this, won't he?**" Kyuubi chuckled from his cage. "**Aren't you glad I'm here?**"

_Joyful. _

Sasuke sucked in a massive amount of air and shouted out his technique.

"**KATON! RYUUKA NO JUTSU!"**

A massive dragon made of flame exploded from Sasuke's mouth and raced towards Naruto, who didn't bother to move and just stared blandly at the monstrosity as it slammed into him and engulfed him in fire.

"NARUTO!"

Sakura was on her knees, looking horrified as she watched the high flames scorch the earth where the blond had been standing. Sasuke came to his senses and held his head in his hands, realizing what he had just done.

"Oh my god, oh my god!"

Onyx eyes darted frantically as they searched the flames. Sasuke couldn't see a soul, and a scream of terror left his lips.

"NARUTO!"

"Can I help you?" came a voice.

Suddenly, Naruto emerged from the inferno with an irritated expression. He didn't seem to care that he was stark naked and that burnt remnants of clothing hung from his shoulders. He brushed off the black cloth before placing his hands on his hips and striding from the flames toward his teammates. Sakura fainted and Sasuke fell to his knees in disbelief.

"Reminder to self, get some fireproof underwear."

"Wha - "

"Again, still wondering when you're going to show me a _real _ninja technique," Naruto taunted. He turned around and watched the flames slowly die down. "Though I have to admit, that was a damn sweet magic trick."

Sasuke stared.

"Wha -, you -, but -," the Uchiha sputtered, not able to articulate his bewilderedness.

"I'm immune to fire, Sasuke," Naruto explained. "Call it my bloodline limit. Cool huh? Almost cooler than yo-"

The blond was sent flying sideways as a fist crashed into his head courtesy of Sakura, who had just woken up from her impromptu coma.

"GET SOME CLOTHES ON!"

"What the - it's not my fault, woman!" Naruto screamed back, still not bothering to cover up. "Ask the Uchiha over there, he's the one who wanted them off!"

Sasuke growled in disgust and took off his shirt before flinging it at Naruto.

"That's all you're getting, so cover that up."

Naruto grinned and was just able to put on the long shirt just as a figure shunshinned into the clearing.

"Hmmmmmm?"

Kakashi examined the scene in front of him. The Uchiha was shirtless, Uzumaki was pantless, Sakura stood between the two with a massive nosebleed, and all of them had horrified expressions.

"It-it's not what it looks like Kakashi - sensei!" Sakura stuttered frantically.

Kakashi stroked his chin.

"You've gotten busy ever since I failed you, didn't you? From what I can deduce...you walked in on the boys as they were -"

"Don't go there, Kakashi."

A woman suddenly appeared next to Kakashi and small streams of blood began to drip from Sasuke's and Naruto's nostrils.

"Why not, Mitaraaaaashi - san?" Kakashi whined.

"Because that kind of dirty talk," she moaned suggestively and swung her hips sexily as she approached the genin. "Is reserved only for _me."_

The genin boys both passed out as they were simultaneously rocketed backwards by a their massive nosebleeds. Sakura huffed in frustration. Almost immediately Anko lost her suggestive air and laughed evilly as she kicked the prone bodies.

"These are them?" she asked in disbelief. "They don't look like much."

"You're not using your eyes, Anko," Kakashi muttered and gestured toward the smoking pile of ashes still remaining from Naruto's technique. "That must have been pretty powerful; I wonder where Sasuke learned it..."

Sakura was about to correct him but fell silent as the jounin turned his eye on her.

"I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"Haruno Sakura," Sakura stated bluntly, wondering how Kakashi had already forgotten.

"Ah, I see. You can sign _this _then," Kakashi pulled out a folded piece of paper and eye-smiled at her.

Sakura took the paper and read it.

"What...is this?" she muttered.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Kakashi waved his hand carelessly. "Just something that will help Konoha's future generation - "

"No, it's not," Sakura interrupted and frowned angrily. "This is a waiver that eliminates all fees you've incurred at the Shinobi Library over the past twenty years!"

"Apples and oranges," Anko cut in, and leaned on Kakashi's shoulder. "Besides, I can vouch for him."

"Oh really, can you?" Sakura's eyes narrowed, "that's rich because your name is written next to Kakashi's on every line."

"What can I say? I like to get involved in my friend's problems. Helping out someone in need is a good stress reliever," Anko paused for a moment before adding, "though it's not as good as - "

"I think she gets the point, Anko," Kakashi cut in.

Sakura crumbled up the paper and chucked it back at the jounin.

"I'm sorry if I seem _rude,_" the girl growled through clenched teeth, "but I sense that this kind of thing is going to happen a lot with you upper level ninja. I suppose you all think that now that a few fresh genin are in charge of the Library that you can abuse us and manipulate us. But I can tell you one thing. You'd better go back to your fancy, stupid little lounge and tell everyone there that we won't take their shit. Know why? Because at the moment, we're on the Hokage's payroll, meaning that as long as the Shinobi Library is involved, my team only has to obey the orders of _one _person."

Sakura leaned forward and threw him a mocking smirk.

"Are either of _you _that person?"

Kakashi and Anko stood in stunned silence.

"That's what I thought," Sakura sniffed. "Now go, none of us are signing that."

The jounin looked at each other confusedly before giving Sakura a disgruntled glare.

"Fine. You'll see the light eventually," Kakashi muttered. "See you Anko."

Kakashi brought a down a hand and spanked Anko square across her backside, nodded to her and then shunshinned, leaving behind a plume of smoke and a pissed jounin.

"YOU BASTARD!" Anko screamed, before following him with the technique.

With both jounin gone, Sakura turned around with a huff and saw both of her teammates awake and staring at her with respect.

"What?" she asked.

"You know how the Hokage said we were each suited for this job in some way?" Sasuke spoke, his eyes wide. "Well, now we know why he picked you."

"No kidding," Naruto chimed in. "You've got bigger balls than we do."

* * *

I'm working on increasing the credulity of dialogue, as my previous chapters contained bland, formal speech from characters. I'm hoping you find this a leap in readability (word?) from last chapter.

Like I said, review so that I can continue to work on things like this and provide a better reading experience for everyone!

P.S. Don't think that Naruto is overpowered. I'll explain why in the next chapter, but Naruto can be either the strongest or most useless person on the team, depending on certain factors.


	5. The Library

This is AM, welcome back! Shorter chapter this time, but more content.

no yaoi, pairing TBD

Disclaimer: I don't freaking own Naruto. Though I can see how one could make the mistake of thinking that.

* * *

Chapter 5: The Library

"Is this it?"

Team 7 came to a stop in front of a nondescript building, perched on periphery of the slums. It had the appearance an abandoned warehouse, and its rusted walls were emblazoned with bright graffiti and peeling posters. It sat on a lonely little street, and like all of the other buildings it reeked of regret and disappointment. Sasuke didn't look impressed.

"_This _is the Konoha Shinobi Library?" he mumbled. "Looks more like a human trafficking front."

Naruto glanced around and frowned.

"Maybe we have the wrong address," he suggested. "Sure, they would probably disguise it, but I don't see any ninja around here. You would think this place would be packed."

"Yeah, you _would _think that, wouldn't you?" came an unknown voice from behind. "Unfortunately, Konoha ninja aren't quite the reading type. Or the smart type, for that matter."

The three teens spun around and watched as a shadow grew from between the buildings. A man with jet black hair emerged. He wore standard jounin attire, a pair of dark orange sunglasses and a headband worn at a slight angle across his forehead.

"Yamashiro Aoba," he declared cooly as he ran a hand through his hair. "Nice to meet you."

"Y-You're Aoba-sensei?" Sakura stammered, gently blushing. "You're the head librarian? I-I'm sorry, I kind of expected - "

"An archaic gasbag?"

Sakura giggled slightly and nodded at the man's deadpan description.

"Yes. Well," Aoba spoke and scratched the bridge of his nose, "I'm just the new model."

The man gestured for them to proceed forward and they complied, still confused by the library's appearance. Sasuke stared quizzically at the man.

"What did you mean when you said that Konoha nins aren't the smart type?"

Aoba stared back at Sasuke and frowned.

"What are Konoha nin known for?"

"Fire jutsu!" blurted Sakura, who immediately blushed and suddenly found her shoes interesting.

Aoba totally ignored Sakura's embarrassment and stared pointedly at Sasuke.

"Konoha ninja are stupid because, to put it bluntly, fire techniques suck," Aoba deadpanned.

Sasuke sputtered at the man's insult. Naruto smiled so broadly his face threatened to split in half.

"Please, elaborate," Naruto smirked. "I believe this is an opportunity we can all benefit from, Aoba-sensei."

Aoba adjusted his glasses and began to lecture, much to Sasuke's irritation.

"Even the lowest level katon jutsus waste tons of chakra."

"But-" Sasuke attempted to argue but was cut off.

"It's the least likely of all elements to kill an enemy, even ranking beneath water."

"That's not-"

"It's the least controllable of the elements."

"That's only if-"

"It's most likely to backfire."

"Well-"

"It causes irreparable damage to clothing."

"Damn straight."

"Shut up Naruto!"

"It also changes the user into a straight-forward fighter rather than a stealth fighter."

"And what's bad with that?" Sasuke blurted.

"You die quicker."

"You're a bastard."

Aoba examined Sasuke's haughty expression with a critical eye. The man thought for a moment before speaking.

"Give me one instance in battle where a fire jutsu is most practical of all other elements."

Sasuke smirked.

"In an enclosed area."

"Wrong. Close quarters combat is the worst for Katon because it leaves you open against a fast enemy as you're standing still."

Sasuke grunted in annoyance but continued.

"Against hordes of enemy nin."

"Wrong. Fire only damages the ones in the front, plus the more ninja you're fighting the more of a chance there is that one of them knows how to defend against fire jutsu."

"In a small room? There's nowhere for the enemy to ru-"

"Wrong. You'll suffocate yourself."

"Long range fights?"

"Wrong. Katon jutsu grow slower and weaker with distance."

"In a forest? You can turn their surroundings into an infern-"

"Wrong. More obstacles to hide behind. Plus I don't think fire is too picky on who it burns."

"Zombie outbreak, perhaps?"

"Shut up Naruto!"

"What?" Naruto smirked. "Only trying to support you, buddy."

Sasuke pondered for a moment before his eyes lit up with an epiphany.

"Point-blank!"

Aoba gave him a blank look.

"You're a sick child. But still wrong. Kunai are faster. And, well...the psychological aspect of burning someone to death directly in front of you can be...traumatic, at best."

Naruto shifted a pebble silently with his foot, all humor suddenly lost. Sasuke desperately sought a solution.

"B-B-But-!"

"Face it, Sasuke," Aoba Yamashiro declared dramatically, his body framed by the sun. "Your life has been..._a lie._"

Sasuke nearly fell to his knees in anguish. Naruto rolled his eyes and shoved the blubbering Uchiha forward as they approached the metal doors of the warehouse. Aoba seemed content, as though the argument had never happened. Sakura giggled to herself as she watched her crush stumble over his own feet in disillusionment. Aoba opened the doors and walked through them without a word to the three, who shrugged and entered in his wake. Almost instantly they were blinded by a bright light and a cold shiver ran down their bodies, as though they had stepped under a cascade of trickling water. Just as suddenly as it came, it was gone, and the three found themselves squinting in the dim light of a massive library, who's rows stretched on far into the distance.

"Chakra detection seal," Naruto muttered, running hands over his cold arms. "Pretty advanced..."

"Yo, Aoba-sensei," Sasuke hissed through chattering teeth. "I think I know the _real _reason why people don't come here. They don't feel like being violated."

Aoba shrugged and waved an arm, gesturing to the entire library.

"From now on this will be your home," he declared. "You will work here, eat here, and sometimes even sleep here, depending on how much work I give you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Now that you're here, I suppose you'd like to know what your jobs are," Aoba predicted. "Everything isn't set up for you quite yet, but by the time you get back, everything should b-"

"Back? Back from what?" Sakura interrupted in confusion.

Aoba smiled.

"Your first mission."

Sasuke grinned, finally beginning to show an amiable attitude toward the jounin. Aoba glanced at him warily and coughed before continuing where he left off.

"Like I said, not everything is ready for you yet, but I _can _tell you your jobs."

The three leaned forward in anticipation.

"Haruno Sakura," he addressed first, suddenly acting formally and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You will be the Researcher. At the moment I am doing the job, but in the future it will be you who assigns missions and uncovers the locations of important scrolls. It will also be you who will deal with the library's day-to-day operations, making sure books are returned and fees are paid."

Sakura's blush at being touched by Aoba quickly gave way to a pale complexion.

"But sensei, are you sure I can handle-"

"I'm not finished," interrupted Aoba. "You will also develop your own information network. For years this Library has generated numerous connections across the Elemental Nations, and it is also here that Jiraiya of the Sannin began his spy network. You will learn the many important, influential people have contributed to this library, and that they will be more than happy to support you."

Sakura nodded, speechless from the burden she was just given. Aoba turned to a shock-jawed Naruto, who took a step back wearily.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Aoba pronounced without any vehemence, a sign of which Naruto was grateful of. "You will be the Enforcer. You will be this library's only security force, seeing as your specialty is Fuuinjutsu. I am also told that you are immune to fire, and due to other...circumstances, you are qualified to be the Receiver. Now-"

"Hold up," Naruto interrupted. "What's a Receiver? Never heard of something like that."

Aoba grinned.

"The Receiver opens all new scrolls and fully examines them before approving their acceptance into the Library. Unfortunately, seeing as this is a Shinobi Library, a great many of them are booby-trapped. Most of the last Receivers have been poisoned, stabbed, burned alive, frozen, crushed, etc. etc. With your healing and immunity to fire, you're most suited for this job."

Naruto paled.

"Receivers don't die _that _often, do they?"

"The library generally goes through Receivers at ten times the rate of the other jobs, on average."

"Damn, don't sugar-coat it," Naruto mumbled sarcastically.

"Also, Sakura is your superior unless in a State of Emergency, which only Sasuke can declare. A State of Emergency is a situation where the security of the library must come first and you need full leeway to make sure it's safe. What else..."

Naruto frowned.

"There's more?"

"Ah, yes. You will receive your own workshop, complete with a lead plated radiation and bombing room where you will examine scrolls for traps. The workshop is an advantage of being the Enforcer; you can have a quiet place to develop your Fuuinjutsu."

Naruto seemed to like this part and smiled,nodding to show he accepted the responsibility of being an Enforcer and a Receiver. Sasuke turned to him and laughed, a smirk adorning his face.

"Wow. Just when I thought Sakura's job sucked," Sasuke dwindled off, snickering.

Aoba frowned at the boy before grinning evilly. He palced a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he addressed formally, evil smirk still in place. "You will be Sakura and Naruto's superior, the Archivist. With your Sharingan's copying and memorizing ability, you are best qualified for this job. You will learn by heart the order in which _all _of the books and scrolls are arranged in this Library, as well as be able to tell instantly when one is missing. When prompted you should be able to tell me the exact placement of a book by aisle, section, and shelf."

Sasuke paled just so slightly.

"That shouldn't be too bad," Sasuke began, but Aoba raised a hand to stop him.

"You will also learn by heart, word for word, the content of each scroll in this library and be able to recite at will," Aoba smirked, before adding mischeviously, "This includes the Adult themed books. Just saying."

Sasuke went completely white and Naruto burst out laughing.

"W-What is that supposed to mean, learn the content of each scroll? There's got to be millions of them in here!" Sasuke sputtered.

"So? Oh, and also, there's an order in which the Hokage wishes you to read. He tells me that before jumping to the jutsu scrolls, you must read all of the political, medicinal purpose, and adult-themed reading material first. If you wish to learn any jutsu from here at all, you must obey his orders, understood?"

"The Hokage wants me to read the smut before everything else?"

Aoba pushed up his glasses, saying, "Actually, the other two were the Hokage's order. That one was mine."

Sasuke gaped at the man, still seemingly not able to comprehend the burden being placed on him. Naruto smirked at the speechless Uchiha, who looked to the blond for help but got a shit-eating grin in return.

"Start reading, bitch."

* * *

"I can't fucking _believe _that guy!"

"Language, Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah, man. At least you don't have your Sharingan yet. He can't make you do anything. I'm the one who's going to get blown up everyday. Or stabbed. Or poisoned. Or crushed...Oh, look, it says here that _'dangers also include being transformed into various fauna and becoming attracted to some species of squirrel' . _Who comes up with this stuff?"

Team 7 was sitting in the middle of the library, leafing through instructions manuals. Each of their scowls grew darker by the minute as they continued to read.

"Listen to this," Sakura growled. "'_The Researcher must do whatever it takes to secure vital information for the sake of the village. This oftentimes involves prostitution-_' Who the hell do they think I am? Like I'm going to-"

"You will. You must. That's the way of a ninja," came Aoba's voice as he rounded a shelf and sat down next to them all.

"I have your mission scroll ready. Before you go though," he smiled, "I have a welcoming gift for you all."

"Oh, but you've already been so kind," muttered Sasuke underneath his breath.

Aoba ignored him and gestured for them to follow. They all stood and followed him down the aisles towards the back of the library, a walk that took an absurdly long time considering the size of the establishment. Finally they reached the back wall and walked along it until they encountered a pedestal, atop which sat the bust of some unknown ninja educator.

"Who's he?" Sakura asked.

Aoba shrugged at her and, in the very next instant, shoved a finger up the bust's nose.

"What the hell?" Sasuke blurted, before being interrupted by a creaking sound to his right.

A section of the wall swung back to reveal a hidden room. Naruto was still staring at Aoba's hand, who's index finger was still firmly lodged up the bust's left nostril.

"That's ingenious," the blond muttered. "No one would think to look there."

Aoba motioned for them to proceed in the room and they complied. Along the walls there were very few scrolls, but they were extremely large in size. Sakura suddenly gasped.

"These are summoning contracts!"

Aoba nodded.

"These are all non-combat oriented summons. Since the ninjas of this village do not seem to value any summon that can't blow their cover instantly..._sigh..._all of them are given to the library, and often they sit here for years, gathering dust. Now you each get to have one."

Sasuke perked up.

"We're getting summons?"

The jounin nodded and Sasuke immediately began to peruse the shelves. Naruto hung back in hesitation.

_Kyuubi._

_ "_**Yes, Namikaze?"**

_Can I take on another summon if I've already got your contract?_

**Yes. I believe the rules differ between species but the lesser summons usually let you have multiple contracts.**

_Thanks!_

Naruto snapped back to reality after his brief exchange and began to search the shelves like Sasuke. Aoba watched them in amusement for a while before coughing lightly.

"You don't get to choose, you know," he grinned. "I already picked them out for you."

The three glowered at him and sulked back to the center of the room. The man reached to the highest shelf and lowered three contracts down, one by one due to their size.

"What do you think they summon?" Sasuke muttered, elbowing the blond to his right.

"I dunno," Naruto said, craned his neck. "Probably more bullshit."

Sakura rolled her eyes but Sasuke grunted in accordance. Aoba turned to Sakura and hefted a giant yellow scroll into her arms.

"This is the horse summoning contract. The horses aren't much good for anything except transportation and company, if you desire, which is why they are in this room. They do allow other riders than the summoner. Use them to save time and energy traveling."

Sakura hugged the scroll tightly.

Aoba turned to Sasuke and dumped a large black scroll unceremoniously into the Uchiha's arms.

"This is the owl contract. The owls are messengers and are able to act as night watches while you and your team sleep. They have extraordinary hearing and can perceive slight changes in air pressure. They're also completely silent in flight. I figured that, since you're an archivist, the owls can help you replace books and scrolls and such. If you summon one big enough, you can also use it for transportation."

Sasuke actually looked satisfied with the summon. Aoba turned lastly to Naruto and hefted a giant white scroll into the blond's arms.

"This is the Mouse contract-"

"SAY WHAT?"

Naruto's mouth hung open in disbelief

"How come Sakura gets an awesome horse summon, Sasuke gets an owl summon, and I get the freaking mouse summon? Which, now that I think about it, is exactly what owls eat?"

Sasuke smirked and patted his black scroll, pissing off Naruto even further. Aoba raised an eyebrow.

"Naruto, think. Mice summons can get into the smallest of places undetected. They can travel within the walls of a building, navigate underground and blend in with millions of other mice. They don't even have to be subtle! People will chalk up the pitter-patter to just another rodent, but when that rodent is planting explosive tags for you..."

Naruto instantly shut up and began to drool.

"You have a veritable army of summons that are quite easily able to avoid capture, can navigate undetected and still are able to handle and plant tags virtually anywhere inside a structure," Aoba finished. "I think this suits you."

Naruto dumbly nodded and rubbed his cheek against the scroll lovingly.

"Now that we're done here, I will fill you in on the mission," Aoba spoke, and pulled out a small scroll from his back pocket. "You will be accompanying another genin team out of the village in order to receive a generous donation of scrolls by a wealthy, influential entrepreneur."

"Who is it?" Sakura asked tentatively. "Do we know him?"

Aoba double checked the scroll before responding.

"I doubt it, I've only heard of him a couple times. It's some guy operating out of the Land of Waves. He calls himself Gatou."

* * *

Hello everyone

. I'm sorry I had to cut this chapter short. I received news that one of my uncles had passed away halfway through it and it was difficult to finish.

On a brighter note, I'm loving how people are taking the time to review. Remember, this story only runs off of review...juice. No review juice equals no inspiration! No inspiration equals...yeah, well, you get the point.

REVIEW! Did you like the summon choices?

P.S. Yamashiro Aoba is NOT an OC. He's a character in the Naruto manga that, ironically enough, uses fire jutsu and is quite an idiot. I'm just making him the opposite for the purpose of the story. Look him up to get his picture.

Yamashiro Aoba


	6. Journey to the Land of Waves

This is AM, welcome back! Without any further ado, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own any manga. But if I did, it would have to be Beelzebub.

* * *

Chapter 6: Journey to the Land of Waves

Naruto silently entered his apartment and shed his orange coat. Wearily, he stumbled into the kitchen and fished around in the cabinets for some instant ramen.

"**You should eat something healthier,**" Kyuubi suggested from within Naruto's mind.

Naruto paused his search to respond.

_I would if I had the money._ _I won't get paid for the library mission until the end of the month._

"**There are other ways to earn money.**"

Naruto blinked.

_Kyuubi, if you're suggesting prostitution-_

"**Of course I'm not, boy.**"

_What then?_

Kyuubi took a second to gather its thoughts and Naruto took the opportunity to grab a cup of ramen and fill it with water. He then turned and placed the container in a small box, closed the lid and laid a hand on top of it. A seal array glowed along the sides, winding around the box as steam rose from the holes at the top. After a few seconds, Naruto removed his hand and extracted the hot ramen from the box, gingerly avoiding the hot edges. He stuck a pair of chopsticks into the soup and took a deep sniff of the glorious yellow broth.

_Best use of fuuinjutsu ever, _he mused, and swirled the ramen around as he waited for it to cool down a little.

"**This is what I'm talking about,**" Kyuubi spoke up interestedly. "**Fuuinjutsu is an extremely rare art. I'm sure there are many people willing to pay for simple seal applications like the ones you've created.**"

_What, people will pay to spend less time cooking? Are they really that lazy?_

"**You'd be surprised.**"

Naruto gazed at his chakrawave in thought.

"There's also that other stuff that I've made," Naruto muttered, this time aloud. "Like the chakra transformers on the walls that power my whole apartment just from the charkra that I unconsciously give off..."

"**Exactly. Most ninja exude chakra constantly without realizing it. Being able to use that unnecessary chakra to save money will interest them greatly.**"

Naruto frowned.

"Okay, I get what you're saying. And I guess the combat seals will get a lot of customers," Naruto pondered. "But how am I going to make enough tags to sell on a large scale?"

"**Your Hokage already gave you a solution to that.**"

Naruto was confused for a second but then his eyes lit up in realization.

"Kage Bunshin," he breathed.

"**Yes. You could essentially make your own assembly line of fuuinjutsu products. You just need the startup capital to buy enough tag paper and ink.**"

"Where am I going to get that?"

Before Kyuubi could answer, there was a knock on Naruto's door. Bewildered at the lateness of the vistor, the blond went to the door and laid a hand on it. The wood in front of him glowed with the tell-tale glimmer of a seal array, and them became transparent, allowing Naruto to see who his visitors were.

"Sasuke? Sakura?"

He swung the door open and allowed the two to stumble in. They both looked disgruntled and still had their scrolls strapped to their backs.

"Thanks Naruto," Sakura grumbled. "There's a parade going through Konoha right now and rooftop travel is being restricted."

Sasuke unbuckled his scroll and threw himself onto Naruto's futon.

"I really hate that festival," Sasuke muttered. "Who cares anymore about the Kyuubi anyways?"

Naruto stood stock still.

"A lot of people, Sasuke-kun," Sakura responded, frowning slightly. "I mean, I wasn't born until a month after it attacked but I can understand why people still celebrate its defeat. It killed a lot of people."

"Is it...October the tenth?"

Sasuke nodded sleepily at Naruto's question. The blond turned to Sakura, who was gazing at him with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Everything alright, Naruto?" she asked, her green eyes searching his face.

"Yeah," Naruto muttered. "Just realized that I'm thirteen now."

Sakura's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together happily.

"Happy birthday! I didn't know! Did you, Sasuke?"

A grunt came from the couch.

"It's okay, guys, I don't celebrate my birthday anyway," Naruto interjected quickly. "Not much reason to, so..."

Sakura frowned for a moment before nodding her head. A small silence settled over the room.

"So," Sakura spoke loudly, trying to start a conversation. "Naruto, are your parents home yet?"

Sasuke sat up quickly and gave Sakura a warning stare. The girl was taken aback by the look, but then she turned to Naruto and saw him silently stirring his ramen, a small sad look on his face.

"Oh my god, are you-? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, Sakura," Naruto mumbled. "They died when I was a baby. I don't remember them."

Sasuke silently watched the blond from the couch. Sakura's face was flushed with embarrassment as she sat on the chair next to Naruto.

"So...you live here alone?"

He nodded. Sakura thought for a moment before turning to Sasuke, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Sakura and nodded to her.

"Naruto," she spoke sharply, and the blond looked up. "Can we live here with you?"

Naruto's eyebrows threatened to disappear into his bangs. His dumbfounded expression prompted Sakura to explain.

"I figure that since the Library is so close, it would be more convenient for us all to stay here. Plus, we're a team, right?"

Naruto was still speechless and Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed. "Besides, it's not like I have anyone to go home to either."

Naruto looked from one teammate to the other before smiling happily.

"Thanks, you guys. I'll have to get some more furniture, but-"

"We'll help. Just one rule though," Sakura interrupted, and suddenly she grew angry. "You must have all of your clothes on at all times in my presence. I've seen too much of you already."

Naruto burst out laughing and Sasuke stood, no longer sleepy.

"Hey, guys," the Uchiha grunted as he lifted his scroll. "We won't have time to do this tomorrow, so why don't we sign our contracts now?"

There were no objections and the other two teammates retrieved their scrolls and unrolled them beside Sasuke's. All three rolls of parchment were blank, signifying that they were to be the first summoners.

"Ready?" Naruto mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.

Sasuke and Sakura nodded. All three simultaneously bit their thumbs and wrote their names onto the parchment with fresh blood, watching as the crimson substance glowed golden and faded into the scroll.

"From what Aoba said, the summoning seals are boar, dog, monkey, bird, and ram," Sakura reminded them. "Let's space out a little so that our summons don't feel crowded."

The three shuffled apart to a free space of the living room floor. Sakura made the seals first and slammed her hand into the carpet, watching a black array appear before a plume of smoke obscured her vision. A small, wobbly legged foal stumbled from the cloud, neighing cutely. Sakura squealed and nearly crushed the horse with a hug. She put the foal down and addressed it gently.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I am your summoner. What is your name?"

"E-Ed," the foal whined.

"That's a...nice...name," Sakura lied, glancing at the boys as they stared at the odd horse. "Please tell your friends that I will be summoning them sometime in the future, okay?"

The foal neighed and disappeared, leaving the three staring blankly at the plume of smoke.

"That's it? That's all there is to summoning?" Naruto deadpanned. "I figured you would need to pass some sort of test. The little guy looked like he was happy to become a slave. Huh."

Sasuke shrugged and performed the seals next. A poof of smoke filled the space in front of him, and he watched the spot intently. The smoke slowly parted.

"Uh."

Sasuke sat uncertain, staring at a tiny little owl who had a head tucked beneath his wing in rest. He stared at the other two.

"Should I wake him up?"

"You just did," muttered the owl. "I'm not supposed to wake up for another hour or so. What do you want?"

Sasuke puffed out his chest.

"I am your summoner," he declared impressively, waiting for the bird to respond.

The owl eyed him with a bland expression.

"And?"

"Er, well," Sasuke stammered, taken aback by the bird's unimpressed nature. "I would like to...er...know your name."

"Pig."

"Ah, of course."

Sasuke threw a pleading look towards his teammates, who giggled at his plight. Sasuke drew himself up again and stared directly into the owl's eyes.

"Tell your comrades that I will be summoning them, for I want to-"

The bird rolled its eyes and disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving Sasuke to stutter in protest. Naruto roared with laughter at the Uchiha's reddened face.

"That little feathery-"

"Actually, he reminded me of you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura giggled. "Except he talks even less."

The Uchiha stopped talking and crossed his arms with a sour expression. Naruto cracked his neck and fingers in anticipation.

"I guess it's my turn, then."

The blond made the seals and declared, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A gigantic plume of smoke filled the room and the teens scrambled back in fear. A pink nose emerged from the cloud and sniffed.

"S-Summoner? I-Is that you?" the giant white mouse squeaked.

Naruto stared blankly at the giant rodent.

"Why are you so fucking huge?" Naruto roared, pointing an accusing finger at the gigantic mouse, who shrank back in fright.

"I-I think it's because master put too much chakra into the summon..."

Naruto just stared slack jawed.

"So, uh, what's your name?"

"Mortimer!" the mouse squeaked. "A-and may I say, it is a p-pleasure to-"

"You don't have to do that," Naruto frowned. "I'm taking advantage of you."

The mouse squealed and scampered thunderously forward towards Naruto, enveloping the boy in a hug.

"Master! Don't say it like that! We have been ignored for so long," the mouse whined. "You are our savior! Please let us be your summon!"

Naruto nodded, bewildered as his face pressed into the mouse's white fur.

"Th-thank you! I will go tell my friends that a loving, generous summoner has come to pay attention to us! Goodbye!"

The mouse bowed and, with a squeak, disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke walked over to Naruto and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Oh great Naruto-sama, are you okay?"

"Shut it, Sasuke."

"I liked him," Sakura snickered. "He was cute."

"Yeah, he was," Naruto growled. "He was also the size of a dumpster and had the backbone of a worm!"

Sasuke smirked.

"So _that's _why he reminded me of-"

"I swear Sasuke, if you utter one more syllable!"

The Uchiha grinned and threw himself back on the futon, lacing his fingers behind his head. The three sat in content silence until Naruto remembered something.

"Sasuke, you have a lot of money, right?"

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at him.

"A lot of money is an understatement, but yes, I do."

"What would you say to making even more? You too, Sakura?"

The pink haired girl tilted her head in interest. Naruto grinned.

"I was thinking of starting a company, one that sells Fuuinjutsu tags. I could use kage bunshin to produce them on a huge scale and our profits would be unbelievable. I just need startup capital, and maybe a place to be able to mass produce tags like an assembly line."

Sakura's eyes lit up in intrigue.

"Naruto," she spoke. "That's genius. Exploding tags are really, really expensive. If we can undersell competitors, which we will because of our efficiency, then we could rake in millions."

"I'm not just talking explosive tags," Naruto grinned. "I have so many other arrays. I have storage seals, paralysis seals, smoke screen seals, privacy seals, chakra storage seals! The choices are endless!"

"I'm on board," Sasuke spoke.

"I am too!" Sakura agreed, her eyes glittering in excitement.

Naruto smirked.

"Good. We'll start it up after we get back from Wave country."

* * *

Morning dawned and team 7 was already waiting at Konoha's gate. Naruto was sitting on a bench, clumsily using a needle and thread to weave something into his orange jump suit. A small white mouse squeaked from his shoulder, giving him eager tips and quick praise. Sasuke leaned silently against a pole, and Sakura drew designs in the dirt with her toe as she sat on the bench next to Naruto.

"When are they going to get here?" Sasuke muttered.

Silence answered his question. Naruto finished with the design on his coat and switched to his pants, occasionally wincing as he accidentally pricked himself. Sasuke stared up at the sky and sighed.

_Fire jutsu suck, huh?_

The Uchiha lowered himself onto the ground and rested his head against the pole, wondering what he'd do next. He hated toa dmit it, but Aoba had made some good points. If fire techniques weren't going to cut it, he'd have to choose something else. What though? What technique would pass Aoba's standards? Low chakra expenditure, quick availability, easy to use while moving...

The Uchiha blinked in irritation.

_What is he talking about, no elemental technique passes that test._

He continued to ponder until he heard Naruto gasp in excitement.

"It's ready!"

Naruto's teammates watched as he placed a hand over the stitched arrays on his clothes and concentrated. Suddenly his orange jump suit turned jet black. The blond grinned victoriously. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You changed your clothes? Big deal."

Naruto glared.

"Sasuke, it's a self-sustaining Henge no Jutsu. It uses the chakra I unconsciously give off to power it, and it lowers the chakra amount required to keep it running. It can only be dispelled by a command by me or if the array tears. That's pretty damn impressive."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Like using an academy level jutsu will ever make me respect you," the raven haired boy muttered.

The three heard the sound of voices and turned to see another genin team approaching. Naruto lost his angry expression and smiled happily at the girl in the center.

"Ino-chan!"

The girl grinned, completely ignoring Sasuke as she bypassed him and gave Naruto a hug.

"How are you doing, baka?"

He smiled and rubbed his stomach.

"Just trying to keep the weight off."

"**Thanks,**" Kyuubi muttered sarcastically.

Ino grinned knowingly and turned to Sakura, who seemed utterly dumbfounded that Sasuke had not been molested yet by the girl.

"Sakura, how are you?" Ino asked, hugging Sakura as well.

"Fine, Ino, it's been a little while..." Sakura responded, bewildered.

Ino nodded to Sasuke, who grunted and nodded back.

Now Sakura was really, _really _confused. Shikamaru and Chouji greeted them, followed by their instructor Sarutobi Asuma. A drunken, older man followed, a sake bottle clenched in a worn hand.

"This is Tazuna, the bridge builder," Ino informed the other team. "We're going to escort him to the Land of Waves."

Tazuna took a swig of his alcohol.

So as I understand it, you will be accompanying us to the bridge and then going to visit the Gatou Corporation headquarters?" Asuma clarified, addressing team 7.

A blubbering sound could be heard as the old man starting choking halfway through swallowing.

"Yeah, that's right," Sasuke answered.

Asuma looked at the other seven people and nodded.

"Well, no reason to waste time here. Let's go."

They all turned and walked out the gate, saluting the gate guards Izumo and Kotetsu as they passed.

"So...why don't you guys have packs?"

Naruto turned his gaze on Shikamaru, who was genuinely curious.

"Storage seals on our bodies," Naruto explained. "I applied them last night."

"Ah. Smart."

"I could teach you if you like. Carrying a pack can be troublesome."

Shikamaru grinned and nodded, walking alongside Naruto as the blond pulled out his sketch pad and started to show Shikamaru the array. Ino was gossiping with Sakura and Sasuke was walking silently at the front, determined to keep his distance from the smelly drunk. Asuma had one hand in his pocket, and the other one was flicking a cigarette. None of them seemed to notice the puddle on the side of the road until they had reached it. Suddenly two figures grew from the water and threw themselves at the group. They wore horns and twin gauntlets, which were attached by a chain between the two.

"Shit!"

Sasuke jumped and threw a kunai , pinning the chain to a tree. The demon-like ninja grinned and both disengaged their gauntlets before making a second attack.

"Stay back, everyone!" Sasuke shouted, glancing over his shoulder as he dodged a swipe from a heavy metal claw. "This is my fight!"

The others hung back and Asuma watched with slight worry as Sasuke lithely dodged the men's arms by mere inches. Sasuke flipped back and, on instinct, started making seals.

"**Katon! Gokakyu no Jutsu!**"

The fireball raced towards the demon brothers but they athletically weaved around the flames and leaped at Sasuke, their gauntlets outstretched and blades extended. Sasuke watched helplessly as the gauntlets grew closer, still disappointed that the fire technique hadn't done anything.

_I should have found a replacement for fire, _Sasuke mused, almost giving up as the claws were inches from his face. _Wait..._

Suddenly, like he had been struck by lightning, Sasuke had an epiphany. The others watched in horror as Sasuke was stabbed through the head by one of the gauntlets, blood coming out the back of his head.

"Got you," one of the demon brothers taunted, glancing toward his partner in glee.

But where his partner had been, there stood a shocked raven-haired boy.

"That fucking _worked?_" Sasuke shouted, feeling his forehead where the blade had been about to penetrate.

The enemy ninja shouted in confusion and turned to see his brother's surprised face speared on the end of his gauntlet. A feeling of disgust rose up inside of him and he screamed in horror, swiping his other gauntlet at the boy. Sasuke only smiled and replaced himself with a log.

"Naruto!"

Naruto looked up to see Sasuke in a tree next to him.

"Throw a rock at him," the Uchiha crowed, glee on his face.

Naruto glanced at the raven-haired boy warily before grabbing up a rock and winging it hard at the demon brother, who leaned his head to the side to avoid it. Suddenly, the rock exploded in smoke as Sasuke appeared and slammed a knee into the man's face, feeling the man's nose break and his body go limp.

_Smack!_

"Ow!"

Sasuke turned and saw Naruto rubbing the side of his head as a rock rolled away.

"Warn me next time, bastard!"

Sasuke only grinned. Asuma laid a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and smiled.

"Great work. Kakashi wasn't lying, you are good."

Naruto walked up and Sasuke smirked at him.

"Impressed, idiot?"

"Please," Naruto grinned. "Like using an academy level jutsu will ever make me respect you."

Sasuke's smirk turned sour.

_He's right. I'm a hypocrite._

"Good job, Sasuke-kun," Sakura chimed, blushing at his heroism.

Ino stepped forward, looked as though was about to talk to Sasuke, then pointedly turned to Naruto and grinned.

"Nice throw."

"Thanks," Naruto grinned in return. "I tried to aim over his left shoulder because Sasuke is right handed so-"

"What?" Sasuke interrupted, glowering at Ino. "You compliment him? I'm the one who almost died!"

Ino smirked.

"Your ego's big enough already."

Sasuke frowned and crossed his arms with a petulant pout.

"Yes, well done, Sasuke," Shikamaru drawled, rolling his eyes. "I think what we need now though is an explanation."

Tazuna paled as everyone turned to him.

"Those were obviously mercenaries," Shikamaru spoke. "We don't have any sort of valuable items that they could be after. But valuable _people_, that's another story."

"Well, I-I," Tazuna stammered, but Asuma glared at him.

"You lied about the mission requirements," the jounin spat. "You've endangered my students. I refuse to let this go further. Tell us everything and maybe, just _maybe _I'll consider not pulling out of this mission right here and now."

Tazuna stuttered before becoming deathly silent. Everyone's eyes were trained on him as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple and he corked his sake bottle. Finally, he let out a sigh.

"Fine, I'll talk," Tazuna decided reluctantly. "It all started when Gatou came to wave. We all thought he was going to be just another merchant, but soon he started buying up all of the transportation companies that controlled the overseas passage from Wave to the mainland. We all thought it was a strategic, intelligent move, for those boats took in a lot of profit each year. However, there came a day when we all went down to the marinas and everything was gone. There were no boats, no personnel, nothing. We sent letters to Gatou, but they went unanswered. After a couple weeks of being isolated, a gang of thugs somehow got into wave and started terrorizing us, demanding tributes and claiming taxes we'd never heard of. It was a slaughter. People foreclosed left and right, homeless roamed the streets in hordes, and still the thugs demanded more money. It wasn't until a group of vigilantes caught one of the thugs and tortured him that we found out something..."

"That they were on Gatou's payroll," Asuma breathed, his eyes closed in thought.

"People started realizing that we were being suffocated. I used that panic to launch a bridge project, one that would save our country...but after that, our problems got worse," Tazuna related darkly. "We started disappearing. Here and there a familiar face would vanish, until eventually we were too scared to leave our own houses. I continued building the bridge with a few brave souls, but I knew it wasn't going to be enough. Gatou would sure of that."

"Bastard," Naruto muttered, shaking in anger.

"I knew I needed to get help. I found a man with a boat he had managed to hide from Gatou's minions. He ferried me to the mainland at great risk to his life and we were able to avoid detection, but after that, I believe one of Gatou's men saw me on the road. My only option was to get to Konoha and hire a ninja team."

"But you didn't have enough money," Ino muttered.

Tazuna looked down in shame.

"I knew that the full details of the mission would make it extremely expensive. I only told them that I'd like to have an escort back to Wave and, like I'd thought, they had no clue that anything was wrong there. And here we are. I just want to help my country. I don't know who's remaining in my absence, but I do know that Gatou won't stop until he's milked everything from our country."

At the end of Tazuna's explanation everyone was silent. Sakura seemed worst off; her shoulders quaked in anger and she didn't try to conceal her clenched teeth.

"We're going," she growled. "We have to do something about him."

"No we're not," Asuma ordered, frowning. "This is too high of a mission level. We're going home."

"Technically, we don't have to listen to you," Sasuke pointed out. "We were assigned no sensei and, seeing as we're on library duty, we have to do anything and everything to complete our mission, right guys?"

His teammates nodded and Asuma frowned deeper, knowing that his hands were metaphorically tied.

"So what you're saying, sensei," Shikamaru drawled, "is that it's okay to abandon people in need?"

Asuma was caught off guard.

"No, I-"

"Because that's exactly what this is," interrupted Chouji, who looked angry. "A whole nation needs our help. I'm not going to ignore them."

Asuma pondered their argument and the whole group remained silent. Naruto seemed to realize something though, and he grinning widely.

"Well," Naruto interjected, clapping his hands together. "When you guys decide, send us a letter. There's one part of our mission I'd rather not be late for."

His teammates looked at him in confusion and he grinned back.

"Face time with old Gatou himself."

Naruto laughed out loud and Sasuke and Sakura caught on, finding themselves smirking evilly.

"Yeah, I don't want to miss that either," the Uchiha declared, fingering his kunai holster. "I really need to have a chat with the guy."

"We'll all have a nice little talk with him," Sakura growled. "I can promise you one thing, Tazuna-san."

The pink haired girl stared into the man's eyes, her face contorted darkly.

"It's going to be one hell of a conversation."

Asuma looked at the librarians and seemed to come to a decision.

"Alright, we're going," he spoke. "But from here on out you must listen to my every order. Got that?"

Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino nodded.

* * *

Team 7 and 10 bade each other farewell at the shore, at the spot where the bridge was scheduled to be finished. Asuma, Tazuna, Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru boarded a small skiff and sailed off into the fog, waving at Team 7 as they disappeared.

"The company boat should be up the beach a few miles," Sakura muttered, glancing at a map contained in the mission scroll. "We should be able to get there in under ten minutes if we hurry."

Her teammates nodded and they all took off, sand spraying behind them as they bounded up the shore with superhuman speed. After a little while they saw a white shape loom out of the fog. As they drew closer, the shape revealed itself to be a luxurious longboat, drifting lazily along a long dock. A man in sailor garbs stood when they reached the pier and greeted them with a smile.

"I'm glad you were able to make it on time! I hope the trip wasn't too troublesome," he asked courteously.

"Oh, only a little," Naruto replied, smiling facetiously. "We did learn a lot though."

"Good, good, I'm glad to hear it!"

The oblivious sailor gestured them onto the boat. A few minutes later, they were flying over the sea, leaving white ocean spray in their wake. A butler came up from below deck and bowed to them all.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I will be your server on this trip. May I interest you in anything to eat or drink as you sail?"

He saw Naruto raise a hand and went over to the blond.

"What would you like, sir?"

"Gatou dead at my feet," Naruto mumbled, the drone of the boat drowning out his voice.

"Would you be so kind as to repeat that louder, please? The engine, you know."

"A rib eye steak, medium rare with diced potatoes on the side."

"Ah, I see. And you two?"

"Your rarest wine, please," Sasuke smirked. "And a cheese sample platter."

"I'm okay, thank you," Sakura blurted in embrassment while sending scathing glares at the boys.

The butler bowed and retreated below decks. Naruto and Sasuke fist bumped and Sakura leaned back in her seat, enjoying the ocean air on her face. Somewhere in her mind, though, she knew that it would be a while before they would feel this relaxed again.

* * *

The next chapter will be the ENTIRE wave arc, from this point to the finish. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please REVIEW! I posted twice in one day just because I loved you guys' support.

P.S. Yes, you can pretty much call our favorite Uchiha (no, wait, our third favorite Uchiha) "substitution Sasuke" from now on. A long time ago I realized how many sick things were possible with the Replacement technique, considering how easy it is and how little chakra it took. I also noticed how jounins always use the jutsu far more often than genin. When Sasuke unlocks his sharingan, it'll be an even better technique because he can time things to the last possible second with that whole "slow motion" aspect of the doujutsu (even though sometimes I wonder if it's just an exaggeration of him being able to predict things. Either way it has the same concept). Expect Sasuke to be pulling off some wicked maneuvers in the future!

P.P.S. For all you Sakura fans screaming 'Naruto's got fuuinjutsu, Sasuke's got the substitution, what's Sakura got?' don't worry. I have something planned for her very soon.

REVIEW!


	7. Plans

This is AM.

I know I said that I'd be posting the entire Wave arc as one chapter, but I felt like the mini hiatus had stretched on for too long so...here's at most 1/8th of the Wave arc I was planning. I will post the rest of wave as a huge chapter when I can...this week has been really busy so I was lucky to even get a chance to write this much.

Disclaimer: I do not own any blonds, but if I did it would be Jessica Alba.

* * *

Chapter 7: Plans

The door opened noiselessly as Team 7 was ushered into the office. It was an extravagant and majestic room, decorated by many tapestries, paintings, and taxidermies. An enormous rowan desk and a throne-like chair sat in the back, with three smaller chairs laid out before them like subjects before a king.

"Guy's humble, ain't he," Naruto mumbled sourly to Sasuke. "This seems like the kind of room you would like."

The Uchiha grunted and turned to Sakura.

"Where do you think he is?" he muttered, eying a small grey pillow filling the space of Gatous chair. "Unless – "

"You must be the librarians."

Naruto jumped and cursed as the supposed pillow raised two heavily jeweled hands in greeting. Gatou smirked at them and fell from his throne, disappearing behind the desk for a few moments before reappearing in front of them. He gave them a transparently fake smile.

"I presume that your trip went well?"

"Yeah, it was short," Naruto responded blankly, feeling Sakura elbow him in the ribs.

Gatou's plastic grin fell and he gestured for them to sit down with a very businesslike air.

"Now, I know you three are used to the best, considering how important your job is," Gatou began, sitting back in his chair and lacing his fingers. "So I hope you find your accommodations befitting. You'll be staying in the best hotel in the area, with twenty four hour services available should you need them."

Sakura frowned instantly

"Accommodations? Sir, we'll only be here for-"

"Nonsense," Gatou interrupted. "You will have my full hospitality and nothing less. You'll stay here the week and rest your limbs. Then you can have your scrolls and be back to your jobs."

Gatou tried to smile good-naturedly, but to the genin it just looked shark-like. Sakura gave the boys a blank stare and they returned it.

"Uh, okay," Naruto spoke and smiled at Gatou. "Are you sure it's not too much of a tall order?"

Sakura's elbow connected with his ribs again and he winced.

"Of course not," Gatou frowned. "Anything's easy when you have the right resources."

Sasuke leaned forward in his chair and feigned appreciation.

"Thank you, Gatou-sama. I'm sure you are as wise as you are generous."

Sakura and Naruto stared at him as though he had grown a second head. Sasuke continued.

"With all of your gifts, I wonder if I would be crossing a line in asking you a favor," the Uchiha formally stated, his eyes never leaving the businessman's. "I heard wonderful tales of a small city in the Land of Waves, not too far from here. If you were able to find us a passage there, I would greatly appreciate-"

"I'm sorry, but all of the boating companies I own are fully busy at the moment," Gatou interjected shortly, his eyes narrowing. "Lots of business into wave country these days. No room for VIP transportation in the books, sadly. But if I find an open boat, I'll be sure to let you know."

Sasuke nodded and leaned back in his chair, his eyes still trained on Gatou. Seeing no other questions, the tiny man assumed his fake smile.

"I suppose that's all for today. Wouldn't want to keep you from your rooms, would I?"

Naruto was the first one on his feet.

"Thank you, Gatou-sama," the blond declared. "Let's go, guys. I'm sure Gatou is a very busy man. He has to take care of the Land of Waves, after all."

His teammates gave him warning glances but Gatou didn't catch Naruto's implication. They stood, bowed, and quickly went for the door.

"Wait, I almost forgot," Gatou spoke up suddenly. "Boys, stay here for a moment, I'd like a word."

Sasuke and Naruto stopped and exchanged glances. Sakura hung back hesitantly.

"You may leave," the man dismissed with a frown, and the girl gave one last glance to her teammates before exiting the room.

The boys reluctantly reclaimed their seats and squirmed uncomfortably as Gatou fixed them with a greasy smile.

"I understand you two are very busy, being so important to your village's welfare," the man declared. "You must not have time for many personal affairs."

"Well, that's not-" Sasuke began, but Naruto stomped on his foot.

"Oh, no need to explain," Gatou continued with what could be called a sympathetic expression. "I empathize greatly. Who has time to meander around, seeking relationships and connections when there's so much work to be done? It's a sad thing all great men must deal with. But I have a way to cure that, if you like."

Naruto suddenly understood what Gatou was implying but Sasuke still had a slight frown.

"Can you clarify what you mean?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto squirmed uncomfortably, obviously wanting to leave.

"Well," Gatou's greasy smile doubled, "I'm sure, if you like, that I could arrange some _company _for you two this evening, or any time of your liking. Remember, me and my resources only live to serve. I'm sure there are some pretty girls out there that would love to spend some time with-"

"That's okay," Naruto interjected, covering for Sasuke. "We're kind of tired. We'll take you up on your offer if we have time."

Naruto stood and lightly tugged Sasuke's jacket to make the astonished boy stand. Gatou looked slightly disappointed but he nodded and waved the two away. The boys bowed and exited as fast as they could, neither chancing a glance over their shoulders as the door closed behind them. Sakura was seated in wait outside, her arms crossed and one feet rhythmically swaying to the lobby music. She looked up and frowned.

"What did he say?"

Sasuke shook his head dumbly and Naruto patted him on the back.

"It could have been worse, mate," the blond muttered. "At least it was girls he was offering..."

"He offered you WHAT?"

Sakura was on her feet in a second, fists clenched and teeth bared.

"Sakura, it's fine-"

"LIKE HELL!"

The girl charged forward toward the door with murderous intent, but before she could make it, she felt a warm pair of arms wrap around her from behind.

"Sakura…"

Sakura blushed brilliantly as she felt Sasuke's breath on her ear. Her legs gave out a little and his arms tightened in support. He whispered again, tenderly holding her.

"Save it…for me…I want to do this too…"

Sakura nodded quickly and blushed even deeper, her mind racing and her heart pounding.

"Good."

Suddenly the arms let go and cold rushed back into her body. She whipped around in a daze, seeing Sasuke walk away with hands in his pockets, his expression thoughtful. Naruto stared from the confused girl to the Uchiha and frowned.

"I see why they made him your superior," the blond muttered. "He knows how to control you."

"Oh, shut up Naruto," Sakura blushed, before turning an angry eye on him. "He's your superior too."

"That may be, but I'm special," Naruto grinned. "I'm immune to his wily charms."

Sakura huffed and followed Sasuke out of the lobby, her long hair swaying as she ran. Naruto's grin instantly dropped and he slowly followed.

_Kyuubi, you heard all of that, right? In the office?_

"**Yes. I believe you should continue with you plan. He deserves it.**"

Naruto was silent for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought.

_I know he does, but...is it really alright for me to do this? I can understand life and death situations in battle...but this is preconceived murder._

There was a long silence within Naruto's mind. It wasn't until the blond had caught up to his teammates that Kyuubi finally replied.

"**Should he be allowed to walk free?**"

Naruto faltered.

_Of course not._

"**Then you know what to do. There's no court in the Elemental Nations for men like Gatou.**"

Naruto nodded before turning his eyes on his friends. Sakura felt his gaze and glanced back at the blond, giving him a gentle smile as she tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear. Sasuke kept glancing at the girl out of the corner of his eye, his hands shoved roughly into his pockets. The two moved side by side, skipping and prowling, pink and jet black, opposites in every way. But they were not alone; a boy in black followed silently, blond hair shining in the sun, a surprising contrast to already opposing forces. They were three entities that pushed and pulled each other, fighting for their own way yet bonded by chains forged from memory and feeling. Fire licked at Naruto's cheeks and air swelled within his chest, and his eyes glowed with the joy of revelation. The two people in front of him shined like beacons, radiating with such a warmth that Naruto could close his eyes and feel the heat embrace his skin. An unbidden smile crept onto his face and he let himself become lost in the sensation, feeling his feet take him wherever they may.

_I'd forgotten this feeling. _

* * *

_ "_Okay guys, there are some things we need to do."

Naruto looked up from his seat against a tree and nodded. Sakura gave Sasuke her full attention. The forest around them shivered as Sasuke began to speak.

"Our number one priority is Team 10. We need to keep updated on what's happening over there."

"Your owls," Naruto muttered, eliciting a smile from Sasuke.

"Yeah, I'll use the owls. Even though they can be a right pain in the ass."

The blond snickered and made some quick seals before tapping the ground. From the cloud of smoke appeared a two-foot long white mouse, which leaped eagerly into Naruto's lap.

"C-c-cuddle time, Master? P-please?" the mouse shyly asked, its big shiny eyes boring into Naruto's own. The blond frowned in mock consideration before closing his eyes and smiling.

"Aw, alright!"

The mouse squealed in joy and dug its head into Naruto's chest, wrapping itself into a tight ball and closing its eyes in happiness. Sakura rolled her eyes at the blond but allowed a small grin to flash across her face. Sasuke gave Naruto an unimpressed stare.

"What?" the blond grinned. "They're comfortable."

"Anyway," Sasuke grunted. "I'll keep in contact with Team 10. After that we need to devise a way to get to Wave...without a boat. Assuming that flying is out of the question, Naruto. You know that Sakura and I can't summon our bosses yet. I'd like to see it when you do it for the first time, though."

"Uh, I don't know if you'd want to," Naruto muttered darkly. "So far I'm noticing a trend. The larger they get, the more of a wimp they are. I'm afraid that if I summon the boss I might end up a bloody stain on his chest."

Sakura stared questioningly.

"They like hugs," he clarified with a bland expression, gesturing at the mouse in his lap.

_ "_ANYWAY," Sasuke coughed loudly, "we need to find out how to travel across water using chakra. I think I know the basic idea so that's probably what we'll be working on this week. Naruto, you can use your clones to practice for you, I want you making as many explosive tags as possible. You also need to find a way to plant them inside Gatou's building without being detected. Now-"

"Wait, what?" Naruto shouted, causing the mouse to jump in fright. "What do we need to blow up the building for?"

Sasuke frowned.

"I assumed it was a given thing. He needs to go down."

"Yeah, but there are plenty of other ways to do it!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief. "What if there are innocents in there?"

"What would you suggest, then, if you're so noble," Sasuke growled and crossed his arms.

Naruto suddenly appeared extremely shifty.

"I...uh...came up with an idea...it's not completely thought up yet, just so you know..."

_Ha, bull shit. I already have the arrays finished._

"Well, what is it?"

Naruto averted his eyes from Sakura's penetrating stare.

"Uh, I tell you guys when I've finished piecing together the details," he coughed, staring intently at the mouse in his lap. "Right now there's a lot of inconsistencies."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"So, erm," Naruto muttered. "Should we start working on water walking?"

No objections rose from his teammates and he stood, letting the mouse skitter along in the grass at his feet. They marched through the forest and emerged onto a sandy shore, kicking sand in the air as they made their way to the waterside of the ocean. It was low tide and the water swayed tranquilly as it glittered with the afternoon sun.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

Hundreds of blonds appeared on the beach in a colossal cloud of smoke. The mouse at Naruto's side crumpled over unconscious as an excitement attack wracked its furry body. Sakura and Sasuke watched in interest as Naruto cleared his throat and pointed to the group.

"We've got six days to learn this, guys."

The rest of the blonds smirked and nudged each other knowingly as Naruto wore a mischievous grin.

"Let's get it in two."

The blonds all cheered and began to spread out, each picking a piece of shoreline. Sasuke and Sakura took tentative steps on the surface of the water, their soles glowing blue. All five hundred of the Naruto clones nodded to one another, took a couple steps back, then sprinted and jumped high over the water, feet smoking.

_Crash. _

A tidal wave slammed into Sasuke and Sakura, who both whimpered in fear before the current knocked them off of their feet. Some distance away, Naruto laughed insanely from a safe perch in a tree, giggling like a little girl at the soaked and disgruntled face of Sasuke.

"Naruto, I'm going to-"

The blond leaped into forest before Sasuke could finish, eliciting a round of cheers and jeering from the hundreds of clones as they jumped up and down in camaraderie.

"This is going to be a long week," Sakura muttered, watching as Sasuke angrily brought a foot up between the legs of a particularly annoying clone and popped it.

She instantly felt better as she heard a cry of anguish and a crashing noise emanate from the distance and saw all of the other clones back away, hands interlaced over their privates and pity gracing their features.

* * *

Naruto raced through the forest and cleared his mind.

"**Ready?**"

_Yes, Kyuubi. What are you teaching me?_

"**Not you. Your teammates.**"

Naruto dropped into a clearing and sent a confused vibration in Kyuubi's direction.

"**Come in here.**"

Instantly, the world went white.

The blond stood in a familiar city scape, gazing upon the giant fox who's image occupied the entire side of a skyscraper.

"My teammates?"

The fox nodded and rose from a seated position. Its nine tails swayed behind it as it walked along the side of the building, its image reflected in the glass as though it were actually standing behind Naruto. As its head reached the edge of the glass, its nose disappeared out of side and reappeared on the next building, followed by the rest of its body. Naruto got the cue and began to walk alongside the giant reflection.

"**They are too weak to be compatible with you. You need to help them find their way**."

"What do you mean?"

"**The Uchiha has become more open...but he still has hatred. I have felt it, and it's growing stronger everyday. You must confront him eventually,**" the Kyuubi growled, its tails twitching. "**As for the girl...she needs to find something that makes her a good ninja or else I'm afraid she won't last long...**"

Naruto remained silent, but his bottom lip quivered.

"**I have a theory, however**," Kyuubi stopped and gazed at Naruto with crimson eyes. "**She is quite good at chakra control, is she not?**"

Naruto nodded. The fox closed its eyes.

"**In the many centuries of my existence I have met numerous interesting creatures. Some could fly, some could move with speed unknown, and some could heal diseases with the simplest touch**," it growled. "**But there was one monster that fascinated me the most...the soul eater.**"

"It...ate souls?" Naruto asked, eyes wide.

"**No, fortunately. It was a misnomer,**" Kyuubi hummed. "**But there were other names for it...metamorphogus...skin-walker...size-changer...and I believe you understand the term shapeshifter.**"

"This is...interesting," Naruto spoke hesitantly. "But what does this have to do with Sakura?"

The fox stared deeply into Naruto's eyes.

"**Everything. Namikaze, the Sage of Six Paths learned the Henge no Jutsu by observing this breed. They taught him everything there was to know about shape shifting**."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"**The Henge that exists today is just a shadow of its former glory. The chakra control required to turn a fake image into a corporeal shell is unheard of by most ninja. As I understand it, Sakura fulfills that requirement. ****It involves weaving many fine tendrils of chakra together into a sort of layered fabric to create a durable exterior. ****The chakra expenditure is low, considering how the technique doesn't exude chakra, but retains it to make the metamorphosis occur. It's quite possibly the best technique for her.**"

"And since Sasuke has already proven the benefits of using academy techniques, it shouldn't be too hard to convince her..."

"**Precisely.**"

Naruto whistled aloud, and the noise echoed throughout the empty city.

"She's going to be happy. She'll be able to turn into a 10 story tall hippo or something and sit on me if I ever piss her off."

"**It'll take more chakra to grow to that size, but yes...that is the basic idea. As for the Uchiha...I believe his new style involves a lot of close range, disabling attacks that need to work instantly. The Hyuuga style would be good for him...**"

"Hyuuga style? That Gentle Fist thing?"

"**Another misnomer. With the right application of the technique, one can cause heart failure with a simple brush of the skin. The greater Hyuuga, dating back a few generations, were even known to be able to cause fatal damage from ranges as much as a few feet away. Like henge, this is involves a low amount of chakra, so he shouldn't have any difficulties. Since he cannot see tenketsus, inform him that all he needs to do is shoot chakra into an opponent's joint or vital spot and they should be severely debilitated. This should improve his skill tremendously, in combination with the replacement.**"

"Why doesn't the Hyuuga just use the replacement? It sounds like a no-brainer to me," Naruto muttered, scatching his head in confusion.

"**Clan arrogance. They aren't precisely ninjutsu-oriented ninja. They're too proud of the Gentle Fist to even think of using a jutsu of such a low level to supplement it.**"

"Now that I think about it, Sasuke was the same way..."

"**The pride of clans will always be a bane to the growth of ninja. I have lived long enough to confirm that. I should have never helped create such a system...**"

Naruto didn't ask what Kyuubi meant, because the fox stood suddenly and barked.

"**It's time for you to go. Remember, you cannot be selfish. You and your teammates must become stronger together, or die together. I feel that this mission will serve as a reminder to that.**"

"I wouldn't think of being selfish, Kyuubi," Naruto spoke truthfully, rubbing his head.

The Kyuubi nodded a massive head.

"**I know you wouldn't**. **Now leave.**"

Naruto closed his eyes and a bright light appeared on the other side of his eyelids. When he opened them, he was greeted by a leafy canopy and the concerned faces of his teammates. They were completely dry, but they looked exhausted.

"All done?" Naruto muttered. "How long was I out?"

"We don't know...your clones are all done for today, they disappeared when we finished...but..."

Naruto looked into Sakura's worried face.

"Sakura, don't ask, I'm fine. It happens."

"But it shouldn't, Naruto! What if it's something really _bad_! People aren't supposed to randomly pass out!"

"Narcolepsy?" Naruto muttered tiredly.

_ "_You weren't sleeping! You were unconscious!"

"Advanced form of it, then."

"Naruto..."

"Sakura, come off it," Sasuke interjected. "He doesn't want to talk about it."

Naruto gave Sasuke a thankful expression as Sakura scowled and walked away, arms crossed. Her anger reminded Naruto of something.

"Oh, guys, I had some ideas as I was...sleeping. It'll probably make you guys three times as strong as you are now," Naruto bluntly stated, smirking at Sasuke's dumbfounded face as he left the bait hanging in mid air. "Interested? Or should I wait until you get some beddy-bye time. Those sheets are pretty comfortable."

The Uchiha gave him tired look.

"Screw you. Tells us."

Naruto grinned before beginning. His teammates listened with rapt attention as he explained the advanced forms of Henge to Sakura and proposed the Hyuuga style to Sasuke. They both accepted his suggestions readily, surprising the blond who expected more resistance.

"Are you sure you're fine using another clan's style?" Naruto asked doubtfully, watching as Sasuke frowned.

"I never had a problem with the Hyuuga. Besides, it's kind of difficult to promote isolated clan culture and pride without a clan," the raven haired boy spoke bluntly, fingering his kunai holster in thought. "Anyway, it's not like I'm stealing their style...just the technique they use in it. And I won't even be able to use it properly, without a Byakugan..."

"We'll find a way around that," Naruto spoke and smiled, waving a careless hand. "I'm just hoping to piss as many of them off as humanly possible."

The sun had sank below the earth by the time Naruto had finished explaining. He and his teammates stumbled back to the hotel in exhaustion, each reeling with unanswered questions and plans, wondering what the future would hold and how they would deal with it when it came.

* * *

Night covered the land in darkness, penetrated only by the lonely white crescent that hung over the swaying waves. The trees shivered, jumping at the slightest breeze and the tiny shifts of prowling predators. Out of the inky darkness came a slow procession of four people. Their heads were held low, hands tight at their sides; ripped clothing hung from their shoulders. From the hand of one hung a battered headband, embossed with a symbol of a small leaf.

The procession continued down the road.

An old man drank from the bottle at his side, drowning away his guilt.

Feet moved slowly as they walked the path.

Two children with faces of ash moved onward, injured and empty-eyed.

All heads down as the earth moved beneath.

A man, carrying in his arms an unmoving child as smoke curled from his lips.

A pale face forever staring skyward.

The group faded into the distance, leaving behind nothing but footprints.

The moon watched, alone over the great ocean.

* * *

I promise that the next chapter will be enormous...probably from 20,000 to 30,000 words. Like the direction this is going? REVIEW


	8. Waves

This is AM! Welcome back to UTF!

This is it, the wave arc! Without any ado, let's start the show!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own several species of dolphin.

* * *

A golden sun was setting behind the waves. The glistening tide rolled softly up the shore, caressing the white sands. Over the ocean, three identical ninja sat, meditating as their bodies glowed with chakra. Their golden locks swayed slightly in the sea breeze, tickling their sweaty faces. Out on the beach, another ninja appeared, his cheeks bearing the same whisker marks as the ones before him. As though expecting his arrival, they all stood in unison and saluted respectfully, an action at odds with their smug expressions. The blond grinned back at them and nodded. One of the clones walked forward.

"General," it intoned briefly.

Naruto reached into his pocket before handing a piece of paper to it. An inky black design was visible for a moment before the parchment was shoved into the copy's pocket. Naruto laid a hand on the clone's shoulder and cleared his throat.

"Both of you," Naruto announced, gazing at the pair still standing on the water, "must protect this man with your lives! Is this understood?"

"Sir, yes sir," they responded.

"You WILL obey his orders."

"Sir, yes sir!"

"And you WILL complete this mission, at all costs!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Naruto stared out at the clones, his face showing a mixture of pride and solemnity.

"Go."

The clone in front of him saluted before back flipping onto the water and sprinting over the waves. The other copies joined it and they leaped over the red water, racing into the crimson sunset. Naruto sighed and turned his back on them.

"I hope they make it in time," he murmured to himself, running a hand through his hair. "We've only got three days until Gatou hands over the scrolls."

The blond launched himself off of the beach, spraying sand in all directions. Through the forest he flew, dodging branches and disrupting wildlife until he came out onto a manicured lawn. Ahead a towering hotel winked in the night, golden windows glowing as a procession of carriages rolled up and down the driveway.

"Welcome, Uzumaki-sama," the doorman grinned emphatically as Naruto approached. "Have a nice evening?"

"You could say that."

"Splendid. Feel free to visit the masseuse if you feel under the weather. For you, everything's free of course. If you like, I can call several restaurants to get you a reservation, and-"

"Dude, I don't have any money on me," Naruto interrupted with a sigh. "If you're looking for a tip, hound the old guy coming up behind me. I'm pretty sure his cane is made of pure gold."

The doorman was speechless as Naruto passed. The blond entered the elevator and rode it up to the penthouse suite. As he entered, his teammates were sprawled out on the couch, scouring a map for details.

"That was a lengthy pee," Sasuke muttered without looking up.

Naruto ignored him and sat down next to Sakura.

"Figure it out yet?"

Sakura looked embarassed, so Sasuke answered.

"No," he sighed. "Even a straight shot will take loads of chakra. It's just too much for..."

"Someone like me," Sakura murmured, her face downcast.

"Hey," Sasuke muttered gently. "Don't talk like that. You've improved a lot in the last few days. It's just a little beyond your chakra capability right now."

"Thanks," Sakura muttered, "but I'm still the reason this isn't going to work."

Naruto frowned and thought for a moment.

"Sakura," the blond spoke. "Just do what you can. If you get tired I'll carry you. If worst comes to worst, you can use us Sasuke as a canoe and paddle him across the ocean. We're here for you."

Sakura smiled lightly at Naruto's humor, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I don't like the sound of the last one, but he's right," the Uchiha sighed. "We'll help you. We're a team."

Sakura smiled brilliantly at that comment. Sasuke leaned back and stared out the window.

"That damn bird should be back by now," he muttered, frowning. "I wonder if he's just delaying to piss me off."

"Sasuke, I don't think Pig is that bad," Sakura defended, crossing her arms. "He's probably just...a little late, is all. Wave is far away...and it probably wasn't easy to find Team 10 on the island."

"He specifically told us that he'd be here at exactly seven o'clock," Naruto muttered. "It's 8:20. I agree with Sasuke, the bird's an asshole."

As if on cue, a feathery shape flew through the window and landed on a chair, its talons clicking on the cured wood. He rose a tired eye at Sasuke, who stared back angrily.

"You're late, idiot."

"I am never late," the owl responded.

The boy and bird glared at one another.

"You said seven."

"Hmm. I said eight twenty-one in the evening, as I recall-"

"THAT IS A _LIE_-"

"Sasuke, let go of the owl," Sakura chastised as Sasuke attempted to throttle it.

Sasuke reluctantly released it and Pig ruffled his feathers indignantly.

"If you please, I'm overdue for a nap," the owl hooted and stuck its leg out, revealing a scroll attached to its leg with string.

Sasuke assumed a serious face and snatched the paper off of the talon. Pig rolled its eyes and disappeared, leaving the three to crowd together on the couch. Sasuke threw the scroll to Sakura, who quickly pulled off the string and unrolled it, eyes darting quickly across the parchment. Her face paled.

"What is it?" Naruto asked immediately.

The girl's hands trembled and she shook her head wordlessly. Sasuke reached across and snatched the scroll away from her, his onyx eyes speeding over the message. His eyebrows rose in surprise and he glanced at Naruto, his face apologetic.

"It's..."

"Give that to me," Naruto snapped and ripped the scroll from Sasuke's hands.

The writing was shaky and scrawling, and numerous stains fell onto the ink.

_Uchiha Sasuke,_

_ Gatou knew we were coming. We were attacked by Zabuza Momochi and his apprentice. They're S-class ninjas for hire, and we were unprepared. Ino and Shikamaru are okay but..._

_ Chouji swallowed an Akimichi red pill in order to save my life. He critically injured Zabuza in the process. I was occupied by the apprentice and wasn't able to rescue him when the effects of the pill wore off... Zabuza escaped with the other ninja and we're predicting that he'll be recovered within the week. _

_We're all at Tazuna's house now. We had a ceremony for Chouji today, celebrated the way he would of liked it. Food cooked from the heart..._

_ This country is in worse shape than Tazuna described. Whatever you plan, make it fast. Just be safe. Watch out for one another and don't be afraid to give up. Some things are more important than the mission... _

_Sarutobi Asuma_

Naruto held the letter in his hands for a long time, staring at the message.

..._We had a ceremony for Chouji today..._

"W-what?" Naruto breathed, his eyes burning. "This can't mean..."

He looked up at his teammates. Sakura was crying silently and Sasuke had a stony expression. Naruto crumpled the letter in his hands.

"That...that fatass," Naruto choked. "What was he thinking...doing something like that..."

Sakura began to sob. Sasuke reached over and pulled her to his chest, where her tears stained his shirt. Naruto rose to his feet and strode to the window, trying to hide the salty wetness he felt on his cheeks. The stars were hidden by the lights of the hotel, blotted out until only pure black covered the sky.

"S-Sasuke," Naruto gasped out. "Let's go outside. We need to work."

"Naruto..."

Naruto whipped around and glared at the boy, wiping away the water beneath his eyes.

"We can sit here, or we can make sure we're ready."

Naruto strode across the lounge, got into the elevator and jammed the button for the Lobby, deciding not wait for Sasuke. Once the elevator reached the bottom floor, he exited in a rush, ignoring the sputtering doorman as he pushed his way out the entrance.

_...wasn't able to rescue him..._

The beach was cast in darkness, the sand cold and the water black. The night was as starless as it had appeared from the window, the same window that an owl had flown through, bearing a letter...

..._some things are more important than the mission..._

Naruto stood there for an unknown length of time, feeling the emptiness descending upon him from the void above. He heard shuffling behind him and saw Sasuke, alone.

"Where's Sakura," the blond asked hollowly.

"Sleeping."

"I see."

"Naruto," the Uchiha began, but was at a loss for words.

The two stood there for a while before Naruto spoke up again.

"How are you doing with the Juuken."

"It's...okay," Sasuke answered slowly, his eyes narrowed. "It's hard to judge when I use it on trees...I can't tell if I'm doing it right."

Naruto turned and looked him in the eye.

"Use me."

Sasuke scoffed.

"You're being ridiculous, of course I'm not-"

"Sasuke, it wasn't a suggestion."

The Uchiha stared stonily into the Uzumaki's eyes.

"Since when do I have to do what you say?"

"Sasuke, if you want to be able to protect Tazuna, or me, or _Sakura_-" Sasuke flinched at this, but Naruto continued. "-then you need to be sure."

Sasuke frowned.

"But you-"

"Sasuke, if you can't do a Juuken, just tell me."

Sasuke's face grew angry.

"Of course I can-"

"Really? Show me! Or have you mastered it already?"

"Naruto, you-"

Naruto strode forward and lifted his arms, presenting his chest as a target.

"You want to get stronger?" Naruto muttered darkly. "Do it."

Sasuke paused and looked Naruto deep in the eyes. There were no glints or sparkles in the blue orbs, only darkness and anguish. Sasuke brought his hand up slowly and pointed two fingers out.

"Fine."

As fast as lightning, Sasuke slammed his fingers into Naruto's shoulder joint, and blue chakra exploded out of Naruto's back. The blond was thrown back, spinning through the air until he hit the sand, creating a wave that covered his body. Sasuke made to help him up, but Naruto slapped away his hand.

"You missed," Naruto hissed. "Less chakra, more accuracy. Shut me down."

The blond stood slowly and Sasuke drew back his hand for another hit. Seeing the blond stumble, Sasuke held back.

_Crack._

Sasuke felt his head snap to the side as Naruto slammed a fist into his jaw. The Uchiha sputtered and held his chin, staring at the blond.

"Don't hesitate, bastard," Naruto hissed. "Don't you dare."

Sasuke growled and launched himself at Naruto, slamming his glowing fingers into Naruto's other shoulder and watching the boy's arm go limp.

"Another," the Uzumaki spat. "Speed. Strength comes with speed."

Sasuke growled and arced his next strike into Naruto's thigh. The blond collapsed onto one knee.

"Again."

_Thud._

"Again."

_Thud._

"Again."

Sasuke rained down blow after blow, watching as the blond sank slowly into the sand. His blue eyes were still dark, but something was growing within them with every strike. It was a small glitter; it wasn't happiness or sorrow, but its intensity became more apparent with every second.

"A-Again..."

_Thud._

Naruto fell face down into the sand. Sasuke helped the blond onto his shoulder, feeling weak breaths against his back.

"I...I can't feel anything, Sasuke..."

Sasuke closed his eyes, ignoring the pangs in his chest. The blond's breathing slowed until unconsciousness overtook him. Sasuke sighed and started the trek back to the hotel, walking beneath a pitch black sky.

* * *

**Day 7**

"Here you are, my friends!"

Gatou gestured grandly at the massive pile of scrolls, which were piled delicately on top of his desk. The three young ninja were seated, stone faced and quiet. Gatou glanced at them curiously.

"Is something wrong?"

The armrest of Sakura's chair began to warp under her grip, but she affected a happy smile.

"Everything is _perfect_, Gatou-sama."

"Very good," Gatou smirked. "I had hoped you had a pleasurable stay this week. No expense was spared to make you three feel right at home."

Gatou leaned forward from his seat on the desk with a smug grin in his face.

"Though, between the four of us, you might call this home sooner than you think, am I right?"

Gatou let out a bark of laughter, but the three genin exchanged confused glances.

"No matter," Gatou continued. "These are the donation scrolls."

He indicated the left side of the table.

"And these," he crooned, laying a tender hand on the scrolls on the right. "Are for you-know-who. I'm sure your master will be pleased. I've found everything he's asked for, though it took a pretty penny to do so..."

Naruto and Sakura still appeared confused. Sasuke cleared his throat and assumed a formal air.

"Our...master has agreed that his name can be used during this meeting," Sasuke spoke, choosing his words delicately. "There is no anonymity among the four of us, Gatou-sama."

Gatou eyed them suspiciously. Naruto and Sakura caught Sasuke's intentions and assumed stony features.

"Are you sure?" Gatou muttered uncertainly. "He told me very specifically-"

"Gatou-sama, we ninja have ways of communication that exceed yours," Naruto interjected, holding up a hand. "We received this missive three days ago, by owl. It flew through the window of our penthouse room. Perhaps your security saw such an occurrence?"

Gatou leaned back and laced his fingers over his lap. Naruto tensed up, dearly hoping that the lie would succeed. Sakura shifted uneasily in her seat but Sasuke smiled.

"They did," Gatou smiled. "I'm glad you informed me of this. At first I did not know what to think of your late night correspondence, but now it makes perfect sense."

Naruto released a breath he did not know he was holding. Sasuke fist-bumped him under the table.

"Well then, now that everything is out in the open," Gatou spoke exuberantly, as though relieved of a great weight, "I believe it's time that I asked of you three a tiny favor."

Gatou leaned forward and lowered his voice significantly.

"Don't tell him that I put you up to this," he whispered. "But please remind Danzo of our little arrangement. Hopefully these beautiful scrolls will do the trick, but in case they don't, feel free to...pressure him, if you please."

Sasuke leaned back and nodded, his face dark and eyes flashing dangerously. Naruto had a similar reaction, but Sakura didn't seem phased by the name.

"Just so we're on the same basis," she spoke crisply, "please list the scrolls intended to be transported to Danzo-sama. He wouldn't be pleased if we arrived with the wrong items, wouldn't you agree?"

Gatou turned and surveyed the pile with a frown.

"Well, they're all Ninja-related scrolls, so naturally I'm hard-pressed to understand them," Gatou began, coughing lightly. "But all of them mention something called a doujutsu."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"There are two scrolls on something called a Byakugan, four on a Sharingan," Gatou listed with a mystical tone, not noticing Sasuke's body seize up, "and one, very rare scroll that took me years to unearth...on something called the Rinnegan. Now, I believe he told you that he would be receiving these seven as a part of the other collection, and that he would come to collect them personally at your Library, but I wanted to make sure there were no mix-ups in the deal."

Gatou leaned back and smiled triumphantly. Before Sasuke could respond, the doors opened and a samurai entered.

"Gatou-sama, the boat is ready," the man grunted, fingering his katana. "I urge you to hurry, the men are getting restless-"

"I'll be there momentarily, Chong," Gatou frowned. "Until then, please don't interrupt our meeting. We are busy."

The samurai cast a sneering glance at the three teenagers.

"Don't tell me they're going to join too? They don't look like they can handle-"

"Chong, that's enough," Gatou spat, furious. "I will deal with you soon. Wait at the docks!"

The warrior scoffed and rubbed his index finger and thumb together. Gatou huffed and dismissed him with a haughty wave.

"Are you going to Wave?" Naruto asked as soon as the doors had shut, his blue eyes cold as ice. "What're the samurai for?"

Gatou sputtered before assuming his greasy smile.

"Well, the village is encountering unprecedented prosperity," he lied. "But, sadly, in such great places crime becomes an issue. The samurai will act as a security force for the foreseeable future. A noble contribution to my clients, wouldn't you say?"

Naruto's armrests cracked from the strain.

"Yes, all in good business, I suppose," the blond hissed, barely restraining himself.

Gatou rose and smiled.

"Well, I must be going. Feel free to follow me out!"

The man dropped from the desk and Naruto slowly stood, unraveling a scroll from his pocket. He draped the scroll over the pile and held up a ram sign, producing a cloud of smoke as the collection was sealed into the paper. Gatou exited the office, followed closely by Sasuke. Sakura made to follow, but Naruto suddenly gripped her arm.

"Sakura," he hissed, still staring at the door. "I'm changing up the plan."

Sakura gave him a look of alarm.

"But you haven't told us your plan yet-"

"Shut up and listen. This is what you're going to do..."

* * *

The three genin watched as Gatou boarded the craft, escorted by Chong the Samurai. Sakura remained silent, her eyes flickering to Naruto every once in a while, a frown on her face. Sasuke glared at the boat as it disembarked and chugged quickly across the sea.

"Naruto, are you sure this will work?" Sasuke questioned, a look of worry on his face.

He glanced at the girl at his side as she sighed.

"Sasuke, don't worry," she smiled reassuringly. "Everything will be fine. Let the boat go."

Sasuke watched as Gatou disappeared into the horizon.

"Damn it," he muttered. "We should have taken him out then and there. In the office."

Sakura and Naruto both had determined faces.

"Don't worry Sasuke, we'll find a way to take him out," Naruto murmured. "I just realized that the most important thing right now is getting to Wave and helping Team Ten. Gatou can wait."

They all stood from their hiding places and walked to the beach. Sasuke gave a curious glance to Sakura.

"Are you sure you can make this?" he asked.

"I think you'll find she can," Naruto smirked. "She's got what it takes."

Sakura smiled and stepped onto the ocean. The boys followed, sheer determination dominating their postures.

"It's go time," Sasuke muttered, cracking his neck.

The three rocketed across the water, brushing their toes along the frosty tips of the waves as they raced into the distance.

* * *

The bridge was shrouded in mist by the time Team Ten had arrived. Shikamaru and Ino surveyed the area warily, their faces worn. All of a sudden, Asuma's danger senses activated and he threw Tazuna aside, watching as senbon needles soared through the open space. Immediately the jounin's eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched.

"ZABUZA!"

A chuckle echoed out of the fog, emitting from various places.

"Still upset?"

Asuma ripped his knuckle blades from his sides and deflected several more senbon aimed for his head.

"A week's long enough to grieve a tool," Zabuza declared, unseen. "Why're you still angry, Sarutobi?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Asuma roared. "Come here! I want to look you in the eyes when I kill you!"

"Oh?"

Zabuza appeared directly in front of Asuma, his sword poised overhead. As fast as lightning, Asuma stuck him in the stomach with a blade and ripped it out horizontally, causing water to spray like a geyser from the Bunshin. Four senbon came soaring through the mist and Shikamaru leaped in their path, deflecting them with a kunai before disappearing into the fog in furious pursuit.

"Shikamaru!"

Ino leaped from Tazuna's side and followed the Nara, soon becoming invisible through the shroud.

"Shikamaru! Ino-"

Four tall ninjas with huge swords appeared and Asuma cursed. He channeled wind chakra into his blades and leaped upwards, creating a helix of death that ripped apart the bunshins and created a cascade of rain to pour onto the bridge.

"It looks like you're a little more aware than the last time we met, Sarutobi Asuma," Zabuza chuckled. "Of course, it would have been more fun if you were like this from the start. I wouldn't of had to waste one of your precious tools..."

Asuma's eyes lit up in rage and he pocketed his trench knives. His hands flew together in rapid seals.

"**KATON: HAISEKISHO!**"

From Asuma's mouth an enormous cloud of smoke erupted, blowing away the mist and covering the area with choking darkness. He heard Zabuza curse a few meters to his left and quickly pulled out his lighter.

_Click._

_BOOM!_

The entire space erupted in an inferno, scorching the bridge with searing heat. Asuma sweated from the proximity of the flames, his eyes searching desperately for a charred shape. The jounin suddenly registered the sound of a boot brushing the ground and he threw himself to the side, throwing a kunai between his legs at Zabuza, whose sooty cleaver wedged deep into the pavement. The man caught the kunai with one hand and dropped it at his side. The bandages had burned off of his face and his shark-like teeth grinned in excitement.

"Come on, show me more of that!"

Asuma roared and rocketed off of the ground, locking blades with the giant man.

"You know," Zabuza hissed, his arms shaking from the power contest. "This has been an interesting week. That boy was strong..."

Asuma screamed and pushed the swordsman back before executing a sweep kick, which the man dodged.

"He had a lot of potential," Zabuza smirked. "It's too bad. He was fun to kill though-"

Zabuza's smirk left his face as Asuma did a seemingly random swipe in thin air with his blades.

_Splurch._

The huge man roared in agony as a large gash exploded across his nose and entered his right eye, severing the organ in two. The bandaged man stumbled backwards, blood pouring from his socket.

"FUCK! FUCK!"

Asuma screamed in rage again before swiping again, extending the range of his chakra blades to their limit. Zabuza used one hand to twist the zanbatou in front of him and dig it into the pavement, its broadside protecting him. Two large lacerations cut into the legendary sword. Zabuza stared at them for a moment with one eye, all of his pain forgotten as he gazed upon the marred metal. His eye flicked up and his sharp teeth ground together.

"You're dead," the man muttered, lifting the sword out of the ground. "You're fucking DEAD! BASTARD!"

Asuma glared back before raising his knuckle blades in defense.

"By the time this is over, " Asuma hissed. "I won't be able to look into the eyes of Chouji's killer. Savor what you see right now, Zabuza. It might be the last thing you ever do."

Zaubuza roared and charged forward at Asuma, who pushed off of the ground and launched himself like a rocket. Blades clashed loudly across the bridge.

* * *

Shikamaru deflected yet another senbon as he chased the apprentice through the fog. The surroundings were becoming clearer the further they ran, and soon he could see a lithe shape racing out ahead.

"Get back here," Shikamaru muttered, his sharp eyes searching for a shadow in the lifting mist.

Finally they burst from the edge of the cloud and found themselves blinded by sunlight. Haku turned and flung two handfuls of needles, which made Shikamaru roll sideways as they soared through the air at insane speeds. The boy stood at once, but found himself face to face with a white mask. He felt a fist grip his arm and he was flung sideways into the rail, impacting harshly and sending a hum racing down the vibrating metal. Shikamaru groaned and lifted himself off of the ground, keeping his eyes on the masked figure before him. The apprentice rose one hand in a ram seal.

"One-handed...?" Shikamaru whispered, watching as a veritable cloud of ice needles formed around Haku.

The boy cursed and leaped straight upwards, feeling the air rush underneath him as thousands of needles stuck into the pavement.

"Please," Haku spoke gently. "Stand still. I don't want you to experience too much pain."

Shikamaru landed in a crouch. The sun was out in full force, and Haku's shadow stretched out in Shikamaru's direction. He made a seal and his shadow extended rapidly, overcoming Haku's in a matter of milliseconds.

"Got you," Shikamaru grunted.

_Crunch._

Shikamaru landed on the ground in a crumpled heap. The immobilized Haku dissolved into a puddle of water and the real Haku appeared, standing over the Nara.

"I'm sorry, but you're simply at the disadvantage," Haku spoke tenderly. "We're on a bridge...there's nothing but my element for miles around."

She lifted Shikamaru by the collar and, with the other hand, extracted two senbon.

"I'm sorry for your friend," she whispered.

Just as her hand was descending, a kunai flew from the mist and severed the senbon into pieces. Ino exploded from the cloud and rained kunai down on the apprentice, a look of rage on her face. Haku made a noise of annoyance and jumped back.

"Don't – you – dare!" Ino screamed, grunting with the force she was exerting in her throws.

The blonde hit the pavement and rocketed toward Haku, using two kunai to swipe at the apprentice desperately. Haku grunted and disappeared with a flicker. Ino felt a foot plant on her back and she spun before she could be pushed away. The apprentice whipped out some senbon and threw it as she fell, forcing Ino to leap back, nursing her thigh where the needles had embedded themselves into her flesh.

"You-" Haku began, but was cut short by the sound of a massive explosion emanating from the fog.

The apprentice tensed up in contemplation before nodding.

"I'm sorry, but I must take care of Zabuza-sama," Haku declared. "I have to make this short."

Haku made a seal and a series of mirrors began to form, surrounding Ino. Shikamaru groaned a short distance away, rising onto his hands and knees, his teeth gritted in strain. The blonde spun around in fright, seeing Haku's image reflected in all of the mirrors.

"My demonic ice mirrors are inescapable," Haku whispered. "I'm sorry, but this is the end."

Shikamaru raised his hand with great effort, groping in the direction of his teammate's blurry image.

"Ino..."

The girl turned and looked Shikamaru straight in the eye, her face contorted in fear.

"Ino!"

A change overcame the girl as she stared at him. Her face calmed and her shoulders relaxed; her

eyes became softer and her lips twitched upwards, giving him an almost apologetic smile. Shikamaru's eyes grew wide and he desperately forced himself onto his feet, his arm still outstretched. Ino shook her head slightly and closed her eyes.

"INO!"

_Thump. Thump._

Shikamaru's ears filled with the sound of his own heartbeat as he watched all of the Hakus lean from their mirrors, each wielding a handful of senbon.

_Thump. Thump._

Ino opened her eyes and raised her kunai, determination on her face.

_Thump. Thump._

Thousands of senbon rained down on Ino, who brought forward her knives in defense.

_Clink! Clink! Thud. Clink! Thud. Thud. Thud. Clink! Thud. _

Ino fell to her knees, needles protruding from her legs.

_Clink! Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Cli- thud._

The kunai dropped from her hands.

_Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. _

Her golden hair fanned out behind her as she fell, her body limp as needles protruded from her neck and back.

_Thump. Thump._

Shikamaru screamed and forced himself into a run.

"INO!"

He entered the dome and turned the girl over, careful not to push any of the senbon deeper. Haku watched silently as the boy desperately ripped out the needles and tried to coax the girl awake. Ino didn't respond.

"I'm sorry," Haku whispered. "You're always going to lose those closest to you. You have to learn this..."

Shikamaru held Ino in his arms and stared at her is disbelief, Haku's words going unheard.

"But I'm afraid I have to do the same to you. I can't let Zabuza-sama be harmed."

Haku pulled out her senbon, finally producing a reaction from the shocked boy.

"You...why?" he asked blankly. "Why?"

Haku paused for a moment.

"Because he is my precious person," Haku spoke shortly.

Her hand came down and a handful of senbon raced toward the Nara, who clutched Ino to his chest tightly. Shikamaru closed his eyes and pulled the girl tighter, his tears rolling down into her hair. The whisper of needles grew closer

_Thump. Thump._

_ POP!_

_ CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!_

Shikamaru coughed and opened his eyes to see the inside of a small smoke cloud. His eyes darted frantically, assessing the situation. They finally landed on an ice dome a distance away, where a flash of black hair caught his attention. Uchiha Sasuke's onyx eyes bore into his own from within the dome.

"Yo, Shika."

Shikamaru looked to his right and saw the Naruto, whose grim face bore signs of fatigue.

"W-what?"

"Replacement jutsu," the blond clarified. "Don't worry, just rest up."

Shikamaru felt a hand on his right shoulder and turned to see Sakura, who was eyeing Ino critically.

"She...should be fine," Sakura whispered. "None of her vital spots were punctured. Thank kami..."

Shikamaru stared blankly down at Ino, fresh hope rising in his chest. Sasuke pointed a kunai at Haku, anger apparent on his face.

"Hey, I know you're having _fun_," Sasuke spat. "But playtime's over."

"I don't know where you came from," the apprentice muttered. "But the result will be the same. You shouldn't have taken his place..."

A hail of needles descended on the boy, who frowned before batting them all away.

"Is that all you've got?" Sasuke taunted.

Haku scoffed.

"It seems you're unlike the rest," the girl muttered.

"Yeah, you could say th-"

_Thud. _

Sasuke stared blankly at the needle embedded into his bicep. Slowly he pulled it out, examining its shining length. His onyx eyes flicked upwards towards Haku.

"You're holding back," he stated.

Haku didn't respond. Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, relaxed his shoulders and shifted his feet into a deeper stance. The tension in the air increased, and Haku felt herself drawn towards the boy by some invisible pull. Sasuke's eyes shot open and deep black voids penetrated her soul.

"Please don't."

The apprentice nodded. Sasuke tilted his head a little and looked out of prison at Naruto, who had stepped forward.

"Hey, idiot," Naruto called, his face grave. "I'll give you two minutes. Then we do it my way."

Sasuke smirked and rolled his eyes. Haku pulled a fresh set of senbon from her pouch.

"Sakura, take care of Shikamaru and Ino," Sasuke spoke, his eyes returning to Haku. "If this goes South, get them out of here."

Sakura nodded, her hands busy extracting needles from Ino's skin. Haku leaned forward.

"No more talking. I must defeat you swiftly."

Sasuke smirked.

"You can try."

_CLINK! CLINK!_

The first volley of senbon ricocheted off of Sasuke's kunai as he dodged and weaved through the hail, his onyx eyes trained on Haku. The masked girl flew at insane speeds from mirror to mirror, leaving a storm of needles in her wake. Sasuke's smirk slowly dropped into a frown as a few hit their mark. Haku appeared in the mirror behind him and launched her specialty attack, forcing Sasuke to leap upwards.

_Thud._

Sasuke hissed in pain as a series of needles penetrated his thigh and he landed clumsily, favoring his

leg. Haku's reflection appeared in all of the mirrors.

"They're too fast," Sasuke muttered, worry creeping in as he saw all of the reflections pull out senbon.

"No more," Haku spoke clearly. "You've lasted longer than I supposed. The next shot will be fatal. You have been warned."

Sasuke glanced outside of the barrier and saw Naruto unseal a package from an array on his arm. The blond threw it from hand to hand and gave Sasuke a meaningful look. Sasuke nodded in hesitation.

"I'm sorry, whoever you are," Haku whispered. "But you can't avoid this. Be still and all will be over quickly."

Uchiha gave her a blank stare.

"You want to know who I am?"

Haku tilted her head and all of the reflections pulled back their arms. A small frown appeared on the boy's face. Sasuke crouched and the air fluxed with chakra, sending a shiver through Haku's body.

"I'll tell you."

"I'm sorry," Haku whispered. "But I don't really care."

All of the reflections leaned out of their mirrors and rocketed at Sasuke.

_Thump. Thump. Thump...Thump...Thump..._

The air became still and the sound of nothingness invaded the world. Mist hung eternal and the ocean waters glimmered, frozen in time, frosty caps immortal beneath the burning sun. The billowing robes of Haku slowed to complete immobility and the ends of her senbon lay harmless between her fingers, piercing the frosty space inches from Sasuke's nose. The boy's hands were together, his hand in the ram seal. Red eyes turned, and years passed before they finally came to lay on the package in Naruto's hands.

_POP!_

_Thud._

Haku's senbon pierced a small packet of papers, each bearing a curious design. The girl landed squarely in the center of the dome and watched as they scattered around her, born by the wind. She attempted to jump, only to find that she couldn't move. Her eyes flicked franticly. She paused when she saw the smiling face of Sasuke, who was standing safely outside the dome. Her eyes turned to the black haired Nara boy next to him, whose hands were locked in a familiar seal and whose shadow stretched out to meet her own. Finally, her eyes met a set of emotionless blue orbs. Naruto brought his hands together.

"**RELEASE!**"

The explosion tore the bridge apart with a terrible groan, collapsing the portion into the sea in a cascade of boulders. The heat singed Sasuke's eyebrows and he averted his eyes, rising his forearms over his head. A terrible scream reached his ears and he peered blearily through the haze. A blackened form pulled itself over the edge slowly, its charred fingers scrabbling at the pavement.

"_Z-z-z-za,_" it hissed, its bald head ripped and bleeding.

The creature rose onto the bridge and stood on one foot, its other dragging limply behind it. Sasuke felt bile rise in his throat and he gagged, covering his mouth with a hand. The smell of death invaded his nose and he fell to his knees, eyes watering.

"_Z-z-za-zabuzaaa_," it whined, scratching at its own face. "_Samaaaaaa"_

Sasuke felt hands grip underneath his armpits and he felt himself get pulled up. Sakura and Naruto, each bearing unidentifiable expressions, stood at his side.

"You have to finish it, Sasuke," Sakura whispered, her voice uncharacteristically dull.

"She's suffering," Naruto murmured.

"Go, Sasuke."

"Go."

Sasuke nodded dumbly and stumbled forward. The creature sensed him and looked up. Haku's mask, blackened and lacerated, was seared onto the being's face. A horrible moan echoed deep within the creature's throat. Sasuke took an unstable stance, his red eyes narrowed in queasiness. The creature took a half-limp in his direction.

"_N-n-naeee,_" it moaned.

Sasuke fought down the contents of his stomach and readied his hand.

"_N-n-naaaa," _it repeated, almost insistently.

The boy's eyes widened and he cleared his throat.

"U-Uchiha Sasuke."

Haku's head dipped and her naked body sagged onto the pavement. Sasuke gritted his teeth and raced forward, palm glowing with blue energy. His eyes burned and he shut them tightly, throwing out his hand.

"I'm sorry!"

His palm slammed into Haku's chest, right over her heart. The flow of blood dripping from her lips increased into a steady stream and she was silenced, her body completely lifeless. Sasuke retreated backwards slowly, staring at the scorched body.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered again.

The ground rumbled slightly and the ruined edge of the bridge collapsed, bringing Haku down with it. The ninjas watched as her limp form slipped into the ocean, chased by stone and ice.

* * *

The fog had completely dispersed. Rubble and flame littered the bridge where a fierce battle raged on. Enormous slashes crisscrossed the cement and the surface was scorched. A panting jounin crouched, his knuckle blades dragging on the floor. Zabuza staggered, leaning on his sword for support. His headband was pulled over his right eye, and the material was soaked with blood. He gave Asuma a tired grin.

"Been a while," he commented, sniffing. "Wonder how those students of yours are doing?"

Asuma growled but didn't respond. He glanced over at Tazuna, who was standing awkwardly a little ways down the bridge, out of harm's way. Zabuza chuckled.

"Don't count on them winning, Haku's too str-"

A quake knocked Zabuza off of his feet and rocked Asuma onto his butt. Both jounin turned and saw a massive smoke cloud far away, and both heard the splashing of debris in the ocean.

"What the hell?" Asuma muttered. "Shikamaru hasn't got that many explosives..."

Zabuza rose onto his feet and sent a frown in the direction of the explosion.

"That's not Haku's style...judging by your reaction, neither of yours did it either," Zabuza muttered, turning to Asuma.

Asuma shook his head. Zabuza frowned even deeper.

"Then who the fuck else is here?"

"Does it matter?"

Zabuza sent a quizzical look in Asuma's direction. Asuma got to his feet, anger still apparent on his face.

"We're not done yet," he growled. "You're not getting any rest."

Zabuza grinned and hefted his sword onto his shoulder. Before the two men could charge, however, they heard another voice.

"STOP!"

The jounin turned. Marching down the bridge toward them was an army of mercenaries, headed by Gatou. The short man adjusted his glasses and sneered at Zabuza. Both jounin stared as Gatou ordered the army to halt.

"Is Tazuna dead?" he asked.

Zabuza frowned. Gatou glanced around and saw the old man cowering against a rail, attempting to hold his head high but failing in the face of so many enemies. Gatou's face went blank for a moment before a smirk appeared on his face.

"Good," he whispered, eyes flashing. "He's alive."

Asuma growled.

"Whatever you're planning, Gatou," he hissed. "It's not going to happen."

Gatou looked directly into the konoha ninja's eyes. Fore some inexplicable reason, Asuma felt the rage drain out of him. A shuffling noise became audible behind them and the jounin turned to see Sakura and Naruto followed by Ino, who was being supported by Shikamaru and Sasuke. They limped closer and Asuma breathed a sigh of relief. Zabuza was astounded.

"Y-you," he uttered quietly. "What did you do to Haku?"

"She's dead," Sasuke declared, his teeth clenched.

Zabuza became silent as he watched the teenagers approach Asuma. The man grabbed Ino and examined her, seeming satisfied that she wasn't critically injured. Gatou stood there patiently, something that struck everyone present as odd. Asuma gave him a suspicious glance. The warriors behind the billionaire became restless and a chorus of jeering started up.

"Get over here!"

"I'll show you how to fight!"

"You wanna die?"

Naruto stared blandly out at the warriors. He walked forward, to the surprise of everyone, and put a hand on Gatou's shoulder. The blond smiled down at the little man.

"Is everything set up?"

Gatou smiled and raised his hands into...the ram seal.

"**Release!**"

Pink hair replaced black hair. Sakura stood in the place of Gatou, shaking out her arms and legs. Naruto still had his hand on her shoulder, a wide smile on his face.

"Wow, I hated being that guy," she grimaced. "It didn't feel right."

Sasuke stared dumbfounded at the two. He turned to the Sakura to his left, who smiled and raised her hands into the ram seal.

"**Release!**"

The 'Sakura' poofed into smoke, revealing a Naruto clone. The clone saluted and popped itself with a grin. Sasuke sputtered.

"That was a clone the entire time?" Sasuke shouted, completely confused. "When did that happen?"

"Right before we left, Sasuke," Naruto chuckled. "We didn't tell you."

* * *

"Sakura," he hissed, still staring at the door. "I'm changing up the plan."

Sakura gave him a look of alarm.

"But you haven't told us your plan yet-"

"Shut up and listen. This is what you're going to do. You need to ambush Gatou before he can leave the building."

"Why-"

"_Just listen,_" Naruto spat hastily. "You need to take his place. Tie him up and put him somewhere where no one can find him. Then get out to the boat and use the Henge you've been working on to imitate him. This way we can keep an eye on Gatou, the army and we get you transport to wave."

Sakura stood there, dumbfounded.

"I-"

"Oh, there's something else, and this is most important," Naruto interrupted, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket. "Before you leave, you need to attach this to the real Gatou. This is extremely important, Sakura. Can you do this?"

Sakura nodded dumbly and accepted the seal array. Naruto sniffed in approval and made a ram seal.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

A clone appeared. The clone made a hand seal and turned into Sakura. Naruto opened the office doors and yelled.

"Sasuke, get back here a minute! I need to talk to you!"

Naruto turned to Sakura and cursed.

"Quick, Henge into a secretary or something so Sasuke doesn't know!"

Sakura, still astounded, quickly turned into an average-looking employee just as Sasuke entered. At Naruto's gesture, she passed him quietly and entered the hallway. Walking briskly down the halls, she found that she was gaining on Gatou as he trotted towards the elevator. Naruto's instructions still rang fresh in her mind, leaving her feel slightly overwhelmed.

"Hold it, please!" she cried as Gatou entered the elevator.

The man didn't bother to hold the doors open, letting Sakura fight the doors back as they were closing. The short man gave her a sneer.

"I don't remember hiring you," he muttered suspiciously. "What's your name?"

Sakura, in her guise, hit the emergency stop button halfway between floors. Gatou sputtered as the elevator abruptly stopped and Sakura turned to him.

"Oh, I'm, nobody," she whispered.

She smashed him over the head with her fist and watched his body crumple onto the carpet. A frown found its way otno her face.

"Asshole," she muttered, kicking his prone body.

She looked up and punched out a roof tile, revealing the elevator shaft. She crouched down and hefted the man upwards, forcing him on top of the elevator through the opening. She leaped up through it and pulled the array from her pocket. It was extremely complex, far more so than the one he had drawn on the log their first day as a team.

"Naruto," she whispered. "I hope you know what you're doing."

She fixed the paper to Gatou's lapel and tied him up with the spare length of rope she found lying in an emergency tool box. She gagged him and made sure his mobility was limited, then leaped down through the hole and fixed the roof tile back into place.

"Gatou-sama!" came a muffled voice through the door. "We're going to get you out, just technical difficulties!"

Sakura made a seal and concentrated, focusing on wrapping the tendrils of chakra into an actual shell.

"**Henge no Jutsu**," she murmured.

_Poof!_

Sakura felt like everything had grown taller, but realized that she had actually grown shorter. The doors were pushed open and the sweaty face of a mechanic peered through.

"You okay, sir?"

Sakura cleared her throat and spoke quickly, panic on the edge of her voice.

"Erm, yes...thank you."

The man looked at her strangely. Sakura thought for a moment and nearly slapped herself in the forehead. She cleared her throat again.

"Thank you...for doing so horrible a job that I have to sit in a goddamn elevator when I have more pressing matters to attend to. Idiot, just get me out of here."

The man retracted his suspicious stare and gulped. He continued to try and force the doors open and Sakura smiled lightly to herself, feeling Gatou's lips press together in a sneer.

* * *

"So...that's why Sakura could run to wave," Sasuke murmured. "It wasn't Sakura. It was you!"

Naruto nodded and Sakura blushed slightly. She turned and saw Ino and gasped.

"Is she-?"

Sakura ran over and began to assess the blonde, disregarding Asuma's assurances that she was alright.

"So, Gatou's dead, huh?" Zabuza stated simply. "I guess our fight's over, Asuma..."

Asuma growled.

"Like hell it is!"

The jounin roared and leapt to his feet, lunging at Zabuza. The man grinned and formed a one handed seal, collecting the last of his chakra.

"Another day, Asuma."

Zabuza shunshinned just as Asuma's blades descended upon him. A roar of anger ripped from the jounin's throat and he collapsed onto his knees. The samurai army, who had gone silent the moment Gatou disappeared, suddenly was reinvigorated. Chong stepped forward, anger apparent on his face.

"I don't know what you did with Gatou," the general growled. "But if he can't pay, then you guys will!"

The army erupted in cheers and howls as all of the warriors drew their weapons. Sasuke scoffed and walked forward alone.

"We've got this, guys," he spoke to his exhausted comrades. "Only Naruto, Sakura and I aren't tired. Just rest up."

The Uchiha walked towards the jeering army and flipped them off, causing the men to charge in anger. Sasuke just smiled and took a stance. Chong raised his sword over his head and brought it down, a smile on his face.

_Pop!_

Sasuke disappeared, replacing himself with another random samurai who took the blade through the neck. Blood squirted into the air and Chong stumbled backwards, eyes wide. He felt two fingers jab into the base of his neck and an electrical jolt flew down his body. He collapsed onto his back, unable to move. Sasuke moved into his range of vision and frowned.

"I just overloaded your spinal cord," he growled. "You're not going to harm people ever again."

The boy turned without another glance at the cursing man and intercepted an incoming sickle with his own kunai.

_Pop!_

A man's neck replaced Sasuke's kunai and more blood shot into the air.

_Pop!_

Sasuke jammed his fingers into a man's eyeball, firing chakra into the samurai's brain. He leaped off of the comatose warrior and made another seal.

_Pop!_

Juken to the liver, heart, brain. Four down.

_ Pop!_

Ten down.

_ Pop!_

Sasuke continued to use the replacement in coordination with juken, cursing the warriors to a lifetime of disability and causing them to collapse into drooling heaps. His teammates watched; Naruto in interest, Sakura in admiration. When the last samurai had fallen, Sasuke limped back, bearing several cuts on his arms but wearing a triumphant smile.

"Well, I know they're not supposed to be much of a challenge," Sasuke muttered when he saw Naruto roll his eyes. "But hey, experience is experience."

"I'm not arguing," the blond retorted. "I'm glad you got some practice. I'm still a little tired from our training session three days ago."

Sasuke went quiet for a moment. Naruto observed everyone and frowned.

"Well," he declared, placing his hands on his hips. "It looks like I'll be going now."

The Uchiha turned in disbelief.

"What? Going where?"

Ignoring Sasuke, Naruto turned to Sakura and leveled her with a stare.

"Is the seal in place?"

"Yes," the girl responded, confused. "But what exactly-"

She stopped when she saw Naruto slap a paper seal onto himself. Her eyes widened.

"That's the same seal that I put on Gatou!"

Naruto nodded, his face grave.

"This is where I take my leave, guys," he muttered. "I've got the scrolls for the library and everything. I'll see you in Konoha. I'll probably get there first."

Sasuke sputtered and Naruto turned to Shikamaru and Ino.

"I'd stay, but Gatou needs attending to. Say hi to Chouji for me," he requested quietly. "And...tell him that I'm sorry..."

Naruto made a ram seal and cast one last sad look at everyone.

"Bye."

_POP!_

Naruto disappeared. Far away in an elevator shaft, Gatou's struggling body disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving the cloud to drift lazily up the column. The konoha ninjas were silent for a moment. Then:

"What the hell?"

* * *

Sand shifted as the desert breeze disturbed its slumber. The burning sun sat high in the sky, casting its searing warmth onto the world. Three identical ninja sat on top of a dune, circling a lone piece of paper and holding it flat. The clones seemed to be waiting for something, and they eyed the seal carefully. All of a sudden, they gasped in excitement as the array glowed bright blue.

_POP!_

_ POP!_

Two forms appeared out of the paper, one tall, the other extremely short and bound. Naruto glanced around and nodded, turning to the clones and saluting.

"You guys made it," he complimented. "I'm proud."

The clones saluted back, smiles gracing their faces. They all poofed out of existence, leaving Naruto and Gatou alone in the desert. The blond walked over and ripped the man's gag off.

"WH-WHAT'S GOING ON?" the billionaire screamed, half angry and half terrified. "I DEMAND THAT YOU RELEASE ME AT ONCE!"

"You're not in the position to be making demands, Gatou-san," Naruto responded, his face emotionless.

"What do you mean? Where are we?" Gatou demanded, struggling at his bonds.

Naruto smiled a little.

"Suna Desert. A few days back I sent some of my boys on a little trip here. They had one piece of a Teleportation jutsu," Naruto explained, receiving a blank look from the small man. "The other two pieces were for you and I. My greatest creation, thus far. It takes my entire store of chakra to make it work."

The man shifted uneasily and struggled at his bonds.

"What do you want?" he whispered.

Naruto rubbed his cheek.

"Well, now that you ask it, everything."

The man stared at him blankly.

"E-everything?"

"Yeah," Naruto responded.

The blond crouched down next to Gatou and flicked the man in the forehead. He pulled a kunai from his belt and spun it around one finger.

"We're out in the middle of the largest desert in the elemental nations," Naruto whispered. "With no one around for miles. I have a weapon and no conscience, as far as you are concerned. If there were ever a chance to barter for your life, it would be now."

Gatou paled considerably as Naruto placed a kunai on his neck.

"P-please," Gatou whispered. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you're a dick who lives off of the destruction of innocent lives," Naruto spat. "And you _enjoy _it."

Gatou sputtered and Naruto pushed the knife deeper.

"A-A-ALRIGHT! I keep all of my money in an underground safe beneath headquarters!"

Naruto grinned and delicately made an incision on Gatou's neck, causing a droplet of red liquid to curve down into the sand.

"Better be more specific Gatou," Naruto hissed. "And quickly."

"It's downstairs, third basement level, guarded and locked! M-my combination is 24 – 16 – 13 – 23 – 12," Gatou nearly shrieked in panic. "The deeds to my companies and boats are all there too! I have several mansions -"

"That's good enough," Naruto interjected.

The blond retied the gag over Gatou's mouth. Naruto sighed and looked down at the man before lifting his head and feeling the sun on his face.

"You know," Naruto began, speaking quietly. "There was another reason why I brought you here..."

Naruto stared sideways at Gatou, who paled again.

"No, I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you're wondering," the boy muttered.

He leaned in and placed his face right in front of the man's.

"I'm going to do something much worse," he grinned. "I'm going to...let you live."

A boisterous laugh escaped the boy's lips and he doubled over. Gatou's eyes were wide and he stopped struggling at his bonds. When the blond had finished chuckling, he cast a dark eye on Gatou.

"Before I let you go, though," Naruto whispered slowly. "I want you to do something."

He crouched next to the man and smiled a dead smile, eyes blank and emotionless. He placed his lips next to Gatou's ear and murmured softly.

"I want you to meet a friend of mine..."

Gatou squirmed as Naruto chuckled softly and stood. He shed his jacket and shirt, spreading his arms out at his sides as though embracing the sun. He turned his back and glanced over his shoulder, displaying his summoning tattoo. His eyes flashed dangerously.

"Better be careful when you chat with him, Gatou," Naruto murmured, eyeing the man's pathetic form. "He won't be very happy..."

The depiction of Kyuubi on Naruto's back twitched.

"It's his first time out of prison in fourteen years."

The picture sprang into life and expanded rapidly, bulging from the blond's back. Naruto's shadow grew larger and larger as the yellow fox turned red and its blue eyes exploded with fire into red orbs. Gatou screamed through his gag and desperately tried to crawl away, resulting in a tumbling descent down a sand dune. The Kyuubi grew, placing its house-sized paws into the sand and savoring the smell of earth as it pulled itself from Naruto's body. Finally, its tails emerged and Kyuubi rose onto its hind legs, blotting out the sun with its sheer magnitude. Its red eyes were trained on Gatou.

"MMMMMRRRRMGMMM," the man screamed, groaning into his gag as tears dripped down his cheeks.

"This is my friend, Gatou," Naruto called. "This is Kyuubi."

Kyuubi slammed down his paws and torrents of red chakra surrounded Gatou, who shrieked as the energy burned his skin.

"You're here because you've willingly committed sin!"

Kyuubi's teeth snapped down and, in an instant, tore away one of Gatou's arms. The red chakra instantly cauterized it as the man rolled around in the sand, howling in agony.

"You're here because you've taken lives..."

_Snap!_

Other arm gone.

"And you're here because you've treated people like scum."

_Crack!_

Gatou was thrown across several dunes, his ribs breaking as Kyuubi flicked him with a single paw.

"And now," Naruto declared, his eyes flashing. "You're going to become your own idea of imperfection."

Kyuubi brought down a claw and slashed Gatou's face into ribbons. Blood dripped down his cheeks as the wounds burned together. The unrecognizable man whimpered, curling into a ball and rocking back and forth, his body shaking uncontrollably. Naruto's eyes darkened and his voice lowered to a whisper.

"What're you doing," he hissed, eyeing Gatou's submissive form. "_This is far from over_."

* * *

Tazuna, Team 10 and Sakura and Sasuke limped into town, where all of the townspeople were gathered.

_ "_T-Tazuna," one of them stuttered. "What's going on? We heard explosions and-"

Tazuna stopped him with a raised hand. He raised his head and cleared his throat.

_ "_Gatou is gone!" he announced, a smile on his face. "He's left this country and he's never coming back! WE ARE FREE!"

Gasps rang through the throng and soon everyone was crying, or laughing, or collapsed into the earth, thanking the ninja at Tazuna's side. Sasuke and Sakura accepted their praise uneasily, unused to the situation. Shikamaru, however, noticed something off.

_ "_Hey," he whispered to Asuma. "Where's Tsunami and Inari?"

Asuma paused for a moment before his eyes went wide.

_ "SHIT!"_

All of the ninja and Tazuna turned quickly, eyeing Asuma with worry. The jounin grabbed Sasuke and Shikamaru.

_ "_Get to Tazuna's! NOW! I'll be right behind you!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened.

_ "_You don't think-"

_ "_GO!"

Sasuke and Shikamaru launched themselves onto the nearest rooftop and rocketed over the village.

"What's the matter, Asuma?" Sakura demanded.

"I didn't think of – _shit_ – I should've realized-!"

Asuma turned to Tazuna.

"Stay here, don't come to the house."

Tazuna paled in realization.

"Y-you don't think that something happened?"

Asuma shook his head darkly before shunshinning. He reappeared right behind the boys just as they were entering the woods. A smell caught their noses and they peered downwards through the branches, watching as they passed over the remains of a slaughtered boar.

"Shit! I was right!" Asuma cursed. "We need to get there NOW!"

Sasuke and Shikamaru became blurs and Asuma rocketed ahead of them. In the distance, a house loomed closer. The sound of screaming met their ears.

"TSU-" Shikamaru began to shout, but Asuma placed a hand over his mouth.

"They might kill her," he whispered. "Take them by surprise."

The ninjas landed in front of the house a stealthily crept through the entrance. The agonized screams were emanating from upstairs. A loud, repetitive thumping noise caught their attention and Sasuke's face became dark. They all growled and raced up the stairs.

"Bitch! Take it!"

The door slammed open and the two samurai looked up in surprise.

_Thunk! Thud!_

The men were blown through the wall of the bedroom and Tsunami scampered to a corner of the room, her eyes swollen and her face purple from bruising. Inari was there, lying unconscious and she hugged him close, rocking back and forth, terrified. Sasuke, Shikamaru and Asuma all roared in anger and dropped from the second story and approached the naked samurai, who had been thrown outside from the force. The samurai attempted to stand. One of them growled and shouted.

"We work for Gatou! You better not mess with us!"

Asuma withdrew his knuckle blades and made a double handed slash in mid air.

_Splurrrrch._

The men collapsed as their genitals were severed into two pieces horizontally, blood rolling down their thighs as they screamed in terror.

"Go, boys," Asuma whispered angrily, addressing Shikamaru and Sasuke. "I'll take care of these guys. Go see to Tsunami."

The boys threw loathing looks at the samurai and leaped back into the house, where they helped Tsunami up and carried Inari downstairs into the kitchen. The sounds of slowly dying men reached their ears and they smiled grimly.

"Those bastards," Shikamaru muttered.

Tsunami became silent after a time. Inari woke and wouldn't leave her side, insisting on getting her blankets and food. A few minutes later, Tazuna ran into the kitchen, his breath wheezy. Ino and Sakura stood behind him, their faces worried.

"Are you okay?" he asked, coughing from exertion.

Then he noticed the bruises on her face and he howled in misery.

"They didn't! The brutes!"

Tears leaked over his wrinkled cheeks and he scooped her up into a hug, whispering into her ear.

"It's alright, they're gone, Gatou's gone, it's all over..."

Tsunami began to cry into her father's shoulder. Sasuke thought it over for a moment before turning to Tsunami's son.

"Hey, Inari," he muttered delicately. "Go pack your suitcase and your mother's. We're taking you to Konoha for a while."

Tazuna looked up in anger.

"Like hell you are!"

"Tazuna-san, we have one of the best medical facilities on the continent," Sakura whispered, siding with Sasuke. "We can make sure Tsunami's looked after. There's nothing for them here until the bridge is finished and business is back up."

Tazuna sputtered and turned to Tsunami, who gripped his shirt tightly.

"P-please, I want to go," she whimpered. "I-I-I can't..._be here_..."

Tazuna thought for a while before sighing and sitting in a chair, looking exhausted.

"Okay. Only because it's what's best for her and Inari," he murmured. "You'll go within the week. The bridge is almost finished. You'll leave then."

Sasuke nodded and left the kitchen with his comrades, leaving the family to grieve.

* * *

The day had come when the bridge was finally finished, and Tazuna had laid the final stone in place. The celebration was ending and Tazuna and Inari stood next to the ninjas, ready to leave for Konoha. Tazuna removed his hat before everyone and approached the group.

"You two take care of yourselves," he murmured. "And don't forget about ol' grampa."

Inari smiled and Tsunami had to brush a tear from her eyes. The man turned to Asuma and held his hat in both hands formally.

"None of this would have been possible if it weren't for the sacrifice you've made," he admitted. "It's because of Akimichi Chouji that this dream became reality..."

Tazuna sweated and gazed at Asuma, who nodded stonily.

"It's because of this," Tazuna concluded, "that I would like to name this the Butterfly Bridge, after his act of heroism that day and the wings he had...It reminds me of freedom and the will to protect those you love. If you'll let me, I will honor him."

Asuma's eyes burned and he nodded, sniffing. Ino began to cry and Shikamaru smiled slightly, his face held towards the heavens.

"That's a perfect name," the boy said. "He'd like it."

Tazuna nodded gratefully and turned to the rest of the townspeople.

"Everyone," he declared, pausing to lock eyes with everyone. "I give you, the Butterfly Bridge!"

The townspeople cheered, hugging and kissing as they celebrated their freedom. They all stepped onto the bridge and began to run and skip across it, feeling the ocean breeze caress their happy faces. Shikamaru held Ino close and stroked her hair, smiling to himself as he closed his eyes. A sense of calm descended upon him for the first time in days.

_Hear that, Chouji? You're a hero..._

END OF WAVE ARC

* * *

Well, there you have it. I hope you found this a departure from the usual Wave arc. REVIEW!


	9. Tales From the Dunes

This is AM, welcome back after a long break to the Uzumaki Tag Company. I am alive. Sorry for the unannounced hiatus - the last few months have been extremely busy, and it's been difficult to find times to write. Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter out soon, but until then, enjoy this next chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That would be slavery or indentured servitude, depending on what state you're in.

* * *

His feet scooped the hot sand as he trudged through the desert. Dull blue eyes surveyed the landscape. Before him, the great orange dunes rose and fell in shifting waves, seemingly infinite in quantity. Naruto ran a dry tongue across his cracked lips and hefted his charge higher onto his back. The small being stirred.

"Sorry," the creature whispered quietly.

Naruto glanced back with a blank face.

"I know," he responded.

It made a small, jerky nod before relaxing its head onto the blond's shoulder. Naruto wearily pulled his legs from the sand as he tramped up the side of a high dune. The dry air burned his throat and lungs; his damp black t-shirt stuck to his sweaty chest as it rose and fell with exertion. It was many hours later before his aching legs finally succumbed and he fell into the sand, dropping his charge. Naruto's lips cracked open and protested silently as he watched his companion roll down the side of the dune, slippign and sliding with whines of pain. He struggled to rise, but the sand caked onto his clothing weighed down his heavy body, sucking him slowly downward. The heat quieted his muscles and lulled his mind into drowsiness. The sun swam before his eyes and dipped below the horizon. He slowly closed his eyes, feeling the coarse sand upon his face and stomach. The red sky faded to black, casting a blanket of stars over the two lifeless beings.

One Week Later

"Still nothing?"

Sakura didn't respond. Sasuke frowned slightly and glanced down at the book in his hands. His red eyes scanned the page in a flash and he snapped the book shut in annoyance.

"We're not looking in the right place," he decided. "It's not like he purposely dropped off the grid."

"I think that's exactly what he did," Sakura mumured. "The way he left...doesn't leave many possible theories, does it?"

She leaned back and examined the rafters of the library.

"First thing I did was check to see if Gatou had turned up anywhere, and that led to a dead end. You would think that the most infamous tycoon of the century suddenly returning to civilization would raise some red flags..."

Sasuke frowned even deeper.

"What about hospitals?"

"Already checked," the girl sighed. "None of the hospitals within a hundred mile radius of Wave have records of a thirteen year-old muscular blond ninja carted into the ER."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Any chance that Adonis got his ass thrown in jail?"

"I checked that as well," Sakura sighed again, her face flushing. "None of the local cities have records of any genin prisoners, but..."

"You think he might have busted out of one?" Sasuke suggested. "They wouldn't want to admit it if he had."

"Honestly, that crossed my mind," Sakura smirked. "Sounds like him, doesn't it?"

Sasuke smiled and the two fell into silence. Suddenly, there came a rustling of wings from above them. Sakura and Sasuke looked up and saw two bright yellow eyes staring down at them from the rafters. Sasuke glared up at his summon.

"What do you want?"

The owl said nothing. Instead, it spread its wings wide and tipped forward, falling from the beam and rocketing itself at Sasuke's head. The Uchiha threw himself under a desk just as the avian summon pulled up and scooped something from the ground, its talons clicking frantically against the wooden floor. Sasuke rose from his shelter, his hair disheveled.

"What the bloody hell-"

"Help!"

The cry came from the small creature caught in the owl's grip. Sakura gasped and leaped forward, grabbing the owl by one scaly leg just as it began to leap back into flight.

"Release him," she commanded, staring the owl in the eye.

The bird clicked its beak indignantly and dropped the squirming mouse into Sakura's outstretched hand.

"Thanks Pig," Sakura breathed in relief. "Sasuke owes you a fat rat"

Sasuke fumed.

"If you think that I'm going to reward-"

"I'm okay with a rat," the owl drawled, rustling its feathers. "Better than that scrawny thing anyhow."

And the owl was right; the mouse's fur was falling out in clumps and its nose was dry and cracked. Its thin skin stretched over its rib cage quite visibly. Sakura gasped slightly.

"What happened?"

The mouse whimpered.

"My master, he's...he's in great trouble!"

"Naruto?" Sasuke interjected. "Where is he?"

"The air was so hot, and he was so tired-"

"Mouse, _where __is __he?_"

"The wind was so scary...mountains and mountains of sand..."

"Mountains of sand? Dunes?" Sakura asked blankly.

The mouse squirmed.

"He's ! I've been traveling for weeks and weeks," the mouse cried and curled into a ball. "He's depending on me! What if I'm too late?"

The mouse screamed and scrabbled up onto Sakura's shoulder, hiding itself in her pink tresses.

"What the hell?" Sasuke muttered, brow furrowed in confusion. "Seriously, what the hell?"

"He's not invincible, Sasuke."

The two genin turned sharply and stared at Aoba as he emerged from a shadowy aisle. The man adjusted his glasses and drew up a chair.

"This isn't the first time an operative has been captured," he continued, crossing his arms and leaning back calmly. "We just need to wait."

"Captured?" Sakura returned sharply. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, judging by the mouse's description," Aoba replied shortly. "Naruto is somewhere in the Great Desert of Wind Country, which means by now Suna has him. They do regular sweeps in desert just in case...The Hidden Village of the Sands...lovely place if you need to tan a bit."

Sakura gaped at him.

"How can you be so calm? What if they're torturing him?"

"I really have no problem with that," Aoba sighed. "You all knew the risks when you signed on."

"We didn't sign on," Sasuke retorted flatly. "We were basically press ganged."

"Apples and oranges."

"So what, we leave him to die?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Aoba sighed. "They won't kill him, at least not for a while. They still have to figure out who he is."

"Who's saying they haven't already?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

Aoba chuckled

"If they had, we would have heard by now."

The genin stared at him blankly. Aoba stood and stretched a little, humming to himself.

"He stays alive as long as he keeps his mouth shut," he murmured. "And he's good at that."

"Naruto? Good at keeping his mouth shut?" Sakura asked blankly, sharing Sasuke's doubt. "You can't know him very well then."

Aoba glanced at them.

"Perhaps. But then again, maybe you two don't either."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke snapped. "He's our friend."

Aoba fixed them both with a long stare, eyes hidden behind his shades.

"You say he can't keep his mouth shut," he murmured, "but tell me...in all of the time that you've known him, when has he actually said anything?"

"What are you talking...about..." Sasuke began, but faded off in thought.

Aoba rounded on him.

"Exactly," Aoba finished. "You know nothing because he gives nothing. He's invisible because he puts himself in the open. Torture can't do anything to that kind of mental defense. Naruto was raised to keep secrets since the day he was born..."

Sasuke frowned deeply.

"What for?"

"Oh, that's a spoiler," Aoba smirked. "You'll have to find out on your own...and I guarantee you, Naruto's not going to help. If you don't try to find out about him, you never will. He'll keep it locked away forever."

The man stepped backward into the shadows of the aisle and disappeared.

"Shouldn't we report this to the Hokage?" Sakura asked. "I know you said you would, but - "

"There's no need. He won't be long," Aoba replied, his voice suddenly emanating from many different directions at once. "He's waiting for something. And if he can't escape...the Library will take care of it. Just be patient."

Sasuke and Sakura stared at one another.

"The...Library will take care of it? What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura muttered, pulling the mouse from her hair and petting it softly.

"I don't know," Sasuke replied softly.

The two sat quietly, both unwilling to admit the presence that had suddenly breached their consciousness, both all too aware of the phantom silence that echoed from the shelves and rafters of the solemn library.

Sunagakure Detention Facility – Hostile Unit (HU)

His lungs were on fire.

The world was jet black before his wide eyes. Somewhere in the back of his water clogged mind he registered that someone was screaming, but the sound was muted to the point of futility. His frantic heart skipped a beat and his body arched involuntarily, his vision sharpening around the edges. He kicked his legs fruitlessly against the side of the tub and desperately struggled with the bindings around his wrists. A bright white light was creeping in from the sides; he shook his head violently and was rewarded with a stabbing pain in his ribs. Just as the bottom of the pool became white as snow, he finally felt water rushing past his face and he was thrown onto a cold stone floor. His captor aimed another kick at him and Naruto took it hard in the ribs, resulting in a paroxysm of coughs that wracked his rigid, cold body with pain. The man lifted a towel from the side of the tub and wiped the strands of wet hair from his fingers.

"You know," the man spoke, examining his prisoner thoughtfully. "As one professional to another, I'm glad for you."

Naruto rolled over and fixed him with a glare. The man smiled and crouched in front of the boy.

"Seriously," he murmured, stroking Naruto's cheek. "I wake up, crack a few eggs and then go home. There's no room for..._growth_."

Naruto didn't reply.

"But then you come along," the man continued, fingering a lock of Naruto's hair, "and it's almost as though you were dropped from heaven. Usually most folks last a few hours...but _you..._you, my boy, you've lasted a week!"

Naruto spat some water onto the floor.

"A...week?" Naruto choked.

"Oh yes," his captor replied, eyes flashing. "I know in here it can seem quite long."

Naruto coughed and closed his eyes. The man gazed at him like a predator eyeing its prey.

"I hope I have even longer with you," he stated, wiping some snot from the boy's face. "It's character-building, you know – torture. You'll become a better man from this as long as you hang on."

A sardonic chuckle came from the blond and the man frowned.

"You're not thinking about telling me your name, are you?"

Naruto opened one eye and glanced at him.

"I'm still deciding," Naruto groaned, rolling into a kneeling position. "But in the meantime..."

The man raised an eyebrow. Naruto glared at him, ignoring the water dripping down his face.

"I'm pretty thirsty."

The man's grin threatened to split his face in two.

"Allow me to help you with that."

The man's hand shot down and Naruto was pulled into a standing position by his hair. He felt the pressure on the back of his head intensify and he was thrown headfirst into the tub, his forehead smashing against the rim. The world was jet black once again. Bubbled streamed past his eyes and his bare feet slid over the stone floor. Again his vision began to grow white and his lungs seared with heat, before he felt a familiar tug on his hair and his head was lifted from the surface.

"Your name?" the man asked, before dunking Naruto again.

The blond struggled and a gargling yell erupted from the water. The man curled his fingers deeper into the blond's hair and pulled the boy back out.

"YOUR NAME?"

_Splash._

Time crawled and Naruto's world became a maelstrom of white lights. His lungs clenched inwards and exploded in fire. Bloody fingernails lay discarded at his knees, and lines of pink arced gently down the sides of the pristinely white tub. And suddenly it was over again, the world swimming and pulsing above an icy red ocean, lungs assimilating with a burning cold.

"O-okay..."

The man leaned the boy back and gazed into his eyes.

"Okay what?"

"I'll tell you – I'll tell you who I am."

The man frowned and redoubled his grip on the boy's blond hair. Naruto gargled some water and spat it down his front.

"I'm the guy who bent your mother over and-"

The boy was choking with laughter by the time his dripping head was pulled out of the icy tub. In the hallway outside of the room, muffled splashing noises and voices could be ascertained for hours afterward. The entire time, wreathed in the moonlight shining through the paned windows, there sat a figure against the wall, black-ringed aqua eyes fixed upon the oak door. When the sounds had finally ceased and the door swung upon, the figure had vanished, leaving nothing but the fluttering of curtains and a layer of sand in his wake.

Konohagakure Public Hospital

Sakura tapped gently on the door frame of the bedroom. The woman lying in the hospital bed looked up and smiled instantly.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Tsunami-san," Sakura grinned back. "Feeling better?"

The woman nodded and snatched a pair of chopsticks off of the bedside table.

"Excuse me, I must look awful," she chuckled. "Though I must admit, I've been in high spirits recently...especially after the news."

Sakura smiled as Tsunami pulled her hair into a bun and secured it with the sticks.

"Not pregnant, then?"

"Not pregnant, thank heaven," Tsunami sighed. "I was so sure..."

"Don't worry Tsunami," Sakura smiled, taking a seat beside the bed. "The doctors are completely certain. Once yours bruises have completely healed, you can leave. You and Inari could be in Wave by the end of the week!"

Tsunami frowned a little.

"I've been thinking about that," she murmured. "It's just..."

She hesitated and Sakura urged her to continue.

"Well, I look at _this_ place," she said, gesturing generally around the room, "and it's so much better than what...Inari has had to live with. I just want him to grow up in a better environment...and he deserves that."

"I don't blame you," Sakura smiled. "You should know, though, that at about his age, he's probably going to be scouted for the Academy."

"And that's a bad thing?"

Sakura's smile twitched a little.

"I meant the Ninja Academy."

Tsunami sat up in the bed in panic.

"Will he have to go?"

"No," Sakura replied with a sigh. "But if Konoha ever goes to war, he could get drafted. That's the risk of raising a family in a ninja village."

Tsunami slumped back into the pillow.

"Yes...I suppose good things always come with a price, don't they?"

"Being a ninja isn't so bad," Sakura defended, a little indignantly. "We aren't sent on any life-endangering missions early on -"

"Oh?" Tsunami asked, eyebrow raised. "How many missions have you completed so far?"

"Well...as far as proper missions go," Sakura faltered, "I suppose Wave was our first..."

"And you all nearly died," Tsunami finished. "I'm not subjecting Inari to that kind of environment."

"Without sounding disrespectful, Tsunami-san, perhaps it won't always be your choice to make," Sakura responded. "It's better to have some ninja training than none at all."

Sakura stood and bowed.

"I really only had time for a brief check-in," she said before smiling. "I hope to see you again when I have the opportunity."

The woman gave her a weak smile as she walked away. Sakura had one foot into the corridor when Tsunami suddenly remembered.

"Sakura-chan? What is Inari up to right now?"

"Oh," Sakura smiled over her shoulder. "He's with Sasuke. I haven't a clue what those two are up to, though."

She left before Tsunami could reply. The woman sighed and sank lower into her bed, closing her eyes, a small frown on her face.

Former Clan District

"Inari, keep your back straight or you'll pull something!" Sasuke yelled over his shoulder, hefting the heavy box higher up in his arms.

Inari, sweating and stumbling, followed closely behind him, carrying a smaller package. Sasuke turned his attention back to the open book atop the box he was carrying and used his nose to flip the page. A pair of large gas masks thumped against his thigh rhythmically as they swayed from his belt.

"Naruto's clones would come in handy right about now," Sasuke mumbled absently, scanning the page.

The unlikely duo walked down the street, attracting a moderate amount of attention from the civilians as they passed by.

"Nearly there," Sasuke called back, smirking a little at the boy's struggling. "Hold on just a little bit – here."

They reached a high iron gate, set against a high stone wall. Sasuke set his box on the ground and pulled a thick key from his pocket before thrusting it into the lock, activating the tumblers. Sasuke picked up his load and nudged the gate open with his foot, watching as it swung slowly away from him. For a moment, he simply stared in silence.

"Hey everyone," he murmured. "I'm home."

He gazed at the leveled gravel of the former clan grounds and the ugly, rectangular grey factory building that protruded from the earth like a bruise.

"What's left of it..."

The two boys proceeded across the gravel to the factory and placed the boxes outside of the door. Sasuke pulled the gas masks off of his belt.

"Okay, I have no idea what might be growing in there," Sasuke clarified, pulling the mask completely over Inari's head before donning his own. "Don't take this off until I tell you that it's safe."

The boy nodded, his face completely hidden, his eyes obscured by the goggles of the mask. Sasuke opened the factory door and ushered Inari inside, quickly closing the door behind them both. For a moment, the fumbled about in the darkness. Sasuke found the switch box and pulled the lever. The factory lights blazed to life, illuminating the walls and floors.

"Wow."

Sasuke frowned heavily.

"Well, I suppose the air is breathable."

Colorful graffiti lined the walls, floor, and ceiling all around them, covering every inch of surface. Inari turned to the wall behind them and examined it closely.

"Some of this stuff is nasty," Sasuke groaned, his face contorted in disgust. "Inari, don't repeat any of this to your mom."

"Are you my mummy?" Inari's muffled voice asked quietly.

Sasuke spun around and fixed the boy's masked head with a disbelieving stare. Inari pointed to the wall he was examining, where the question he asked was scrawled in bright red.

"Oh, for a second I thought...never mind."

Sasuke turned back and placed his hands on his hips with a severe frown.

_This __is __going __to __take __some __work. __Naruto...hurry __up._

Sunagakure Detention Facility – Hostile Unit (HU)

Naruto's naked body shuddered, rubbing the ropes binding his wrists, chest, thighs and ankles to the surgical table. He sighed wearily as his torturer wheeled a large vat into the room.

"What've you got for me today, Doc?"

"Oh, you'll see," the torturer replied, grinning. "You've no idea how long I've been waiting to try this method."

The man kicked a stool next to the tall vat and clambered onto it.

"I trust you'll keep this between us, of course," the torturer coughed. "Strictly speaking, this might be violating a couple multinational agreements and conferences...but you understand. New frontiers and all."

Naruto closed his eyes and rested his head back on the restraint.

"Yeah. I understand."

The torturer lifted the lid from the giant vat, releasing a thick cloud of steam. He pulled his head back sharply.

"Hmm...this might even be _too_hot."

He squinted at Naruto through the steam momentarily, lips pursed in thought.

"What do you think?"

The man lifted a ladle from the cart and scooped up some boiling water.

"Have a sip."

In a flash of silver, a cascade of sizzling water slapped the blonde across the face. Naruto opened his eyes and stared unflinchingly at the torturer as steam rose from his skin.

"Better let that simmer a bit longer, Doc," he spoke drily.

The man dropped the ladle in consternation.

"I knew you were tough, boy, but this is borderline ridiculous."

"I have my moments."

The man frowned down at his vat and tossed in the ladle, listening to the dull splash absently.

"Where are you from then? A secret clan?"

"Not so secret."

"Interesting."

The man walked over and fell heavily into the chair beside Naruto's table.

"Well, you had me thoroughly stumped, boy," he sighed, closing his eyes. "For the longest time I had you pinned as a Yamanaka. Mental fortitude, you know."

Naruto opened his mouth in reply but caught himself, thinking for a moment.

"Sorry, I don't."

The man opened one eye and grinned.

"Never miss a thing, do you? Well, I suppose you can't be tricked that easily."

The man stood and pulled out a scalpel. Naruto's body tensed as he eyed the gleaming instrument. The torturer sighed.

"I guess there's only one option left then, isn't there?"

The scalpel flashed down.

_Snap!_

Naruto stared unbelievingly down at his severed restraints.

"What-?"

"Ah! That proved it," the man smiled. "Your father had the same idiotic expression when I released him."

Naruto swung his legs out and hung them over the table while massaging his wrists, still staring at the man in disbelief.

"How-?"

"Oh come on, Namikaze, you should really know better," the man chuckled. "Only the son of the Yondaime could have that resemblance to Minato Namikaze. If that wasn't enough, the obvious indicators of bijuu possession would have given you away instantly to anyone else!"

"I'm sorry, obvious?"

The man dug underneath Naruto's table and pulled out all of the boy's clothes and effects, including his scrolls. He then eyed Naruto with bemusement.

"Look at yourself! You're as unmarked as the day you came in here. Advanced healing ability and resistance to burns are premiere characteristics of jinchuuriki...not to mention, those silly marks on your face and the unnatural sharpness of your teeth aren't exactly common. You may be smart...but those were rather large mistakes."

Naruto scratched his cheek indignantly.

"Excuse me for not giving much thought to cosmetics while I was dying of heatstroke out in the middle of the desert. My bad."

The man chuckled. Naruto thought for a few seconds.

"Okay...how exactly did you know my father?"  
The man paused.

"I...struck a deal with him, you could say. He was in here for a small period of time back when he was a genin. Got lost on a scouting mission."

The man laughed suddenly, his eyes distant as though recalling a memory.

"He had a horrible sense of direction, that guy. I gave him the address of an escort to guide him back across the desert and somehow he ended up in the kage's office."

"Are you serious? What happened then?" Naruto questioned with a shocked expression, genuinely intrigued.

"He made himself an exit, didn't he?" the man laughed. "There's still a draft. No one ever knew it was him, either. It's one of those unsolved mysteries no one ever wants to talk about around here."

Naruto shrugged and thought again.

"What was the deal you made with him?"

"Well, at the time, Suna was very unstable," the man recounted. "I was a single father, and I had started doubting Suna as a good place to raise my little girl. I had nearly finished my residency at the interrogation unit when he was brought in."

The man lifted a hand to scratch his sideburns, which Naruto suddenly noticed contained more than a few gray hairs.

"He was likeable, even as a kid. He told me right off that he was from Konoha, to 'save me the trouble,' as he put it," the man chuckled. "Naturally, seeing such a well-raised and confident child in front of me, I got to wondering about his home. I was a bit selfish, really."

Naruto smiled a little, urging the man to continue.

"I wanted the best for my little girl, of course. I asked how Minato felt about Konoha, just to get a feel for the place," he smiled widely. "You should have heard how he talked about it. It was the most inspiring chat I've ever had in my life. He single-handedly convinced me to move to Konoha with his wrists still chained to the desk."

The man then frowned.

"But the kage at the time...he was cracking down on emigration. There was no way he would let a promising graduate like me move to a rival hidden village. The more I was told I couldn't leave, the more l felt that my daughter needed to escape this place. I had a brother already living in Konoha, but we hadn't talked much since we were little kids. I summoned Minato for another 'interrogation session' and released him. After telling him my plans, he promised to find my brother and deliver a letter if I would let him go. True to his word, it wasn't long after I released him that my brother showed up on my doorstep, pretending to be a tourist – proper criminals we were, devising a plan to smuggle my daughter out of the village," he sighed. "He left a week later, managing to take her with him without being detected. I haven't seen her since. I don't suppose she remembers me."

Naruto frowned.

"But you kept in contact?"

"For a little while, yes," he sighed heavily. "Now that we had each others' addresses, my brother sent me letters every month for a year. But then the letters stopped. I wasn't able to get any communications to Minato for a very long time due to close surveillance – they suspected that the 'kidnapping' of my daughter wasn't a random incident - and by the time I the kage had finally relaxed his grip on my life it was far too late. The Kyuubi had attacked and the Yondaime had passed away, cutting off all connections to my daughter."

"I'm sorry," Naruto supplied.

"Don't be, because this is going to help you," the man said, standing up again.

"Pardon?"

"You didn't think I'd let you go that easily, did you? No, I'm going to need you to promise something before I let you go on your merry way."

Naruto nodded uncertainly.

"I need you to swear that you'll find my daughter and my brother, no matter what it takes," the man pleaded. "If you're half the man your father was, then you'll keep to your word. Please, find them, and tell me...that they're okay."

Naruto laid a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Doc...you didn't need to ask. I would have gone looking for them anyway. Leave it to me."

The man grasped Naruto's hand and shook it roughly, then clapped his hands together in a seal. Blue seals lining the walls suddenly glowed and then became inactive.

"Now, get going. I deactivated the chakra suppressing seals, so put a henge over those damn whiskers. Just make sure you don't use your bijuu's chakra – I suppose it's Kyuubi's – or else the kage might sense you."

"I don't think I could even if I wanted to," Naruto responded, shrugging on his black jacket. "I used a massively complicated genjutsu in the desert that took a lot of shoving from Kyuubi to get working. It took more out of me than I thought...and Kyuubi's been asleep for a week. That's why I haven't used his chakra to blow the roof off of this place, chakra-suppressing seals included."

"Oh, and here I was thinking that you were just being a gentleman."

"That's a nice thought."

The man opened the door for Naruto and the boy cast a henge, turning his blond hair brown and concealing his whisker marks.

"Won't you get killed for releasing me?"

"Lucky for you, you came straight to me when they brought you in," he said smugly. "I have you marked down as just another vagabond in the registers. Here's the address to a guide across the desert back to Konoha."

Naruto accepted the slip of paper.

"Thanks...for this, Doc. And don't worry, I don't take the torture personal. It's just your job."

"Thanks, and don't mention it. I mean it – _don't __ever __mention __it_."

"I got it, I got it," Naruto chuckled. "By the way, I was carrying...someone when I passed out in the desert. I don't suppose you know where that person is?"

The torturer frowned.

"That's troubling. You were the only one we found. Some other patrol may have picked him up."

Naruto cursed to himself but shook off his anger.

"It'll be okay," he said to the man. "It's more troubling that I've been a guest here for more than a week and I still don't know your name."

The man smiled again.

"The name's Han Kato," he said.

"Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki," Naruto replied with a smile.

"Time to say goodbye, Naruto," the man said, glancing out of the windows at the darkening sky. "Do hurry and find them for me."

"I will. What are their names?"

Naruto's former torturer began to close the door between them.

"My brother's name is Dan Kato. My daughter...is named Shizune."

The door shut with a small click.

"Shizune, huh?" Naruto whispered to himself. "I'll look into it."

The boy looked out the window. Suddenly, a wide grin graced his features.

"But first..."

The office was dark as the secretary entered. Her high heels clicked on the wood floor as she clattered over to the desk and dropped a small bundle of papers by the lamp. Glancing around for a moment, the woman sighed to herself and began reorganizing the stacks.

"Excuse me."

The woman twisted about in surprise and a pile of papers fell to the floor.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," a boy with brown hair and cerulean eyes spoke, entering the office and bending over to help her pick up the papers.

"You shouldn't be in here," she murmured, her face florid with embarrassment.

"Oh, I won't be long," the teenager said, smiling widely. "I just wanted to admire the décor."

"Yes, it is quite nice, isn't it," the woman spoke, rising with all of the papers in a neat stack in her arms.

She turned and placed the stack on the table.

"Very well furnished and decorated. Only the best for the kazekage," she declared before turning back to the boy.

He was gone. She stepped back in surprise and glanced around the dark office before shaking her head and rubbing her eyes. She adjusted her dress and left the office, muttering about sleep and vacations, not noticing through the darkness that the office's décor had suddenly been renovated.

Inked into the wall directly above the hokage's chair - suspended right over where his head would be - was a gigantic penis.

Smiling to himself, Naruto raced over the rooftops toward the guide's address. The night sky was clear in the village of Sunagakure, and the street lamps were dimmed, allowing the stars to shine brightly above. Naruto dropped down in a neighborhood near the edge of the village gate and extracted the slip of paper containing the address from his pocket.

"1671 Sedimenta...1667...1669...here we are."

Naruto walked up the narrow walkway to the tiny apartment and rapped once on the door.

"Are you the boy?" came an emotionless voice.

Naruto's gaze flicked upwards. Framed by the moon, a the silhouette of a person was visible on the roof, head inclined in Naruto's direction.

"Depends. Who's asking?"

The silhouette lifted a large shape from the roof beside him and disappeared in a swirl of sand. Naruto whirled around and saw the boy reappear in the street. The boy strapped on his gourd and locked Naruto with a blank stare.

"Subaku no Gaara. Follow me."

* * *

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